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FundAmerica Shares Growth Metrics, Plans for 2016

By David Penn Posted on January 6, 2016
Categories: FundAmerica

This week, crowdfunding compliance solution provider FundAmerica gave us an inside look at some of its top metrics from 2015. Near the top of the list was the $102 million processed by FundAmerica’s platform customers. And of that only $3.5 million was refunded to investors for deals that didn’t close.

FundAmerica founder and CEO Scott Purcell said he was “surprised” at the low refund figure. “It shows offerings using FundAmerica’s services and methodology are overwhelmingly successful,” he said.

From left: FundAmerica General Counsel Scott Andersen, with founder and CEO Scott Purcell, demonstrated FundAmerica’s platform at FinovateSpring 2015.

Specializing in providing back-office tools ranging from escrow, AML, and payment processing, FundAmerica gives investment advisers, broker-dealers, and platform operators the technology to make sure their crowdfunding businesses run efficiently and remain compliant.

Some 2015 metrics from FundAmerica:

Number of escrows (506b, 506c, and Reg A): 228 offerings
Average investment (506b/c): $50,000
Average investment (Reg A): $2,800
Total number of platforms: 325
Platforms launched in 2015: 85

FundAmerica says it has investors from all 50 states plus the District of Colombia, with most investors coming from California, Texas, Florida, and New York. The vast majority of investors are from the United States (95%), with other participating investors from countries such as China, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Canada.

In addition to the metrics from last year, Purcell highlighted what to expect from FundAmerica in 2016.

Grow staff from 21 to 50
Launch EB-5 services
Support Title III crowdfunding portals
Provide APIs for venture exchanges, aggregators, and research firms

Purcell says FundAmerica will continue to improve its back-office solutions for 506b/c and Reg A offerings, and provide more compliance tools for broker-dealers. “Writing software is nonstop for us,” Purcell said.

FundAmerica made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015, and launched its Invest Now button in May. Learn more about how the company helps crowdfunders stay compliant in our August 2015 profile.

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Backbase’s 2015 Metrics Report Cites 35% YoY Revenue Growth

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on January 6, 2016
Categories: Backbase

Digital banking platform provider Backbase released a report today highlighting its 2015 growth:

Large financial institution clients: 60+
End customers: 70+ million
Languages available: 12
Countries served: 25
YoY revenue growth: 35%

Backbase, which has a client retention rate of 98%, added a number of major clients in 2015 including:

Chase Bank
Doha Bank
First Data
Goldman Sachs
KeyBank
Metro Bank
Silicon Valley Bank
Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane
Westpac

Last year the company opened a new office in Atlanta and grew its employee base by 62% from 225 to 365.

At FinovateEurope 2015, Backbase launched an addition to its Customer Experience Platform (CXP) called Omni-Channel Journey Manager, a tool that offers insight into the customer journey and enables banks to fix inconsistencies.

Backbase cites 2015 as its most successful year so far, and has big ideas for 2016. The company plans to debut version 6 of its CXP in the first quarter and will showcase its newest offering at FinovateEurope 2016 next month in London. Tickets for the conference are available at a discounted price through January 8; register soon.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on January 6, 2016
Categories: Backbase, Billhighway, Cachet Financial Solutions, Check Point, FundAmerica, GMC Software Technology, InComm, LoanNow, Roostify, Soundpays

On Finovate.com

“Soundpays Appoints Steve Doswell as CEO”

“Backbase’s 2015 Metrics Report Cites 35% YoY Revenue Growth”

“FundAmerica Shares Growth Metrics, Plans for 2016″

“LoanNow Secures $50 Million Credit Facility”

Around the web

Billhighway awarded National Best and Brightest Company to Work For for fourth year in a row.

CloudLock and Check Point Partner to attack hybrid cloud shadow IT and malware through detection, quarantine, and eradication.

InComm acquires TibiDono, Austria-based marketing and gift-card-distribution company.

Cachet Financial Solutions to power RDC solutions for Illinois-based Algonquin State Bank.

Roostify appoints Iyad Darcazallie CFO and COO, names Scott Stein VP of sales.

GMC Software named leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Customer Communications Management Software for third consecutive year.

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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Backbase’s 2015 Metrics Report Cites 35% YoY Revenue Growth

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on January 5, 2016
Categories: Backbase

Digital banking platform provider Backbase released a report today highlighting its 2015 growth:

Large financial institution clients: 60+
End customers: 70+ million
Languages available: 12
Countries served: 25
YoY revenue growth: 35%

Backbase, which has a client retention rate of 98%, added a number of major clients in 2015 including:

Chase Bank
Doha Bank
First Data
Goldman Sachs
KeyBank
Metro Bank
Silicon Valley Bank
Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane
Westpac

The company last year opened a new office in Atlanta and grew its employee base by 62% from 225 to 365.

At FinovateEurope 2015, Backbase launched an addition to its Customer Experience Platform (CXP) called Omnichannel Journey Manager, a tool that offers insight into the customer journey and enables banks to fix inconsistencies.

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Deadline for Queen City Fintech Spring 2016 Accelerator is This Week

By David Penn Posted on January 5, 2016
Categories: Uncategorized

The deadline for applications to join the Spring 2016 cohort of the Queen City FinTech Accelerator Program is this Wednesday, 6 January.

QCFinTech is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, a major U.S. financial services hub that provides access to professional mentors from institutions ranging from Bank of America to Wells Fargo. The accelerator program runs for 12 months with an on-site, “intensive acceleration” beginning on 14 March and ending with a Demo Day event on 1 June. Finovate Best of Show award winner Dyme is among the program’s alums.

In a statement, QCFintech said their accelerator program was an opportunity to help different kinds of fintech companies bring their innovations to market. “While our program does not focus on one aspect of fintech,” the statement noted, “our mentors and expertise tend to have core expertise in payments, cyber security, retail and consumer banking.”

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Soundpays Appoints Steve Doswell as new CEO

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on January 5, 2016
Categories: Soundpays

Soundpays, a startup whose technology enables customers to make P2P payments using inaudible sound, has appointed a new CEO this week. The Toronto-based startup’s board of directors selected Steve Doswell (pictured right) to succeed Peter Misek as CEO.

Misek, who will remain on the Soundpays board of directors, says:

Steve Doswell has been credited for shaping the growth of some of North America’s most influential and valuable companies. He’s an exceptional leader, passionate about our mission, and has an impressive history of working with startups at a similar stage of growth as Soundpays.

Prior to his appointment, Doswell served as CEO of Dubai-based First Information Security. He also has a history in the pharmaceutical industry and worked as chief operating officer at AOL Canada in 2007.

Soundpays debuted at FinovateFall 2015 and won best of show.

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FundAmerica Shares Growth Metrics, Plans for 2016

By David Penn Posted on January 5, 2016
Categories: FundAmerica

This week, crowdfunding compliance solution provider FundAmerica gave us an inside look at some of its top metrics from 2015. Near the top of the list was the $102 million processed by FundAmerica’s platform customers. And of that, only $3.5 million was refunded to investors for deals that didn’t close.

From left: FundAmerica General Counsel Scott Andersen and Founder and CEO Scott Purcell demonstrated the FundAmerica platform at FinovateSpring 2015.

Specializing in providing back-office tools including escrow, AML, and payment processing, FundAmerica gives investment advisers, broker-dealers, and platform operators the technology to make sure their crowdfunding businesses run efficiently and remain compliant.

Some other interesting metrics from FundAmerica:

Number of escrows (506b, 506c, and Reg A): 228 offerings
Average investment (506b/c): $50,000
Average investment (Reg A): $2,800
Total number of platforms: 325
Platforms launched in 2015: 85

FundAmerica also noted that it has investors from all 50 states plus the District of Colombia, with most investors coming from California, Texas, Florida, and New York. The vast majority of investors are from the United States (95%); also participating are investors from countries such as China, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Canada.

In addition to the metrics from last year, Purcell highlighted what to expect from FundAmerica in 2016.

Grow staff from 21 to 50
Launch EB-5 services
Support Title III crowdfunding portals
Provide APIs for venture exchanges, aggregators, and research firms

Purcell added that FundAmerica will continue to improve its back-office solutions for 506b/c and Reg A offerings, and provide more compliance tools for broker-dealers. “Writing software is nonstop for us,” Purcell said.

FundAmerica made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015, and launched its Invest Now button in May of that year. Learn more about how the company helps crowdfunders stay compliant in our August profile.

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Deadline for Queen City Fintech Spring 2016 Accelerator is This Week

By David Penn Posted on January 5, 2016
Categories: Dyme

The deadline for applications to join the Spring 2016 cohort of the Queen City FinTech Accelerator Program is this Wednesday, 6 January.

QCFinTech is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, a major U.S. financial services hub that provides access to professional mentors from institutions ranging from Bank of America to Wells Fargo. The accelerator program runs for 12 months with 12 weeks of on-site “intensive acceleration” beginning in March and ending with a Demo Day event on 1 June 2016. Finovate Best of Show award winner Dyme is among the program’s alums.

In a statement, QCFinTech said their accelerator program was an opportunity to help different kinds of fintech companies bring their innovations to market. “While our program does not focus on one aspect of FinTech,” the statement noted, “our mentors and expertise tend to have core expertise in payments, cyber security, retail and consumer banking.”

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on January 5, 2016
Categories: Alpha Payments Cloud, Backbase, FundAmerica, Hyperwallet, PayPal, Soundpays, Top Image Systems, Venmo, WePay, wipro

Around the web

Wipro appoints Abidali Neemuchwala, CEO and member of the board, and names TK Kurien as executive VP.

Top Image Systems announces quarter-million-dollar eFLOW5 upgrade project of Hong Kong subsidiary of a top-ten Chinese bank.

Let’s Talk Payments interviews Peter Burridge, Hyperwallet CRO and president.

PYMNTS interviews WePay’s Global Vice President of Sales and Success Kurt Bilafer about customer intimacy in online commerce.

Fortune: How Venmo plans to make money.

PayPal and Aramex partner to create www.ishoptheworld.com, a one-stop cross-border marketplace.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Finovate Debuts: Urban FT Brings a Social PFM to Prepaid Cardholders

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on January 4, 2016
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Urban FT

Urban FT has reimagined the traditional banking experience by enabling customers not only to track their spending, but also engage with the purchasing experience. Using the Urban FT platform, prepaid card issuers and telco companies are able to offer white-labeled digital banking services.

Company facts:

Founded: 2012
HQ: New York City, New York
Employees: 32
Registered users: 700,000

Financial tools

Urban FT offers banking features in a non-traditional way, including:

Prepaid card loading using remote check deposit
Payment capabilities, such as P2P payment and bill pay
Transfer methods to move money to and from external accounts
Aggregated account view
“Good to spend” remaining balance

Here’s a view of the user’s aggregated accounts as well as a plot of their monthly cash balance.

The user sees account activity along with a Good to Spend amount of their remaining balance.

Discovery tools

Urban FT offers an engaging experience that extends beyond making purchases and tracking transactions. For example, using a consumer’s purchase data, the platform serves targeted offers within the app, making for a streamlined purchasing experience.

When reviewing account activity, users can click on a transaction to dig into more details about the location of the purchase. Swiping left leads to the app’s Yelp-like functionality that empowers users to leave reviews for restaurants.

Social feed

Another unique feature is the feed of friends’ non-financial activity. Customers may elect to share experiences, photos and/or financial activity.

By bringing together offers, ratings, and a social feed, Urban FT bridges the gap among venues, spending, and peer activity, all of which encourage regular engagement with the app.

Just prior to Urban FT’s appearance at a FinovateFall, the company acquired digital wallet solutions provider, Wipit (FinovateSpring 2014 demo). Urban FT was eager to leverage Wipit’s relationships with players in the MVNO market: Boost Mobile, Sprint, and Pinsight Media. Urban FT CEO and co-founder Richard Steggall says the acquisition will help the company serve the telco vertical with end-to-end digital banking solutions.

What’s next?

At FinovateFall 2015, Urban FT announced a partnership with Sprint, which will launch its Sprint Money Express mobile wallet in January 2016. The wallet, which uses carrier billing, will offer SKU-level data and a targeted-ad platform.

Urban FT’s COO Kasey Kaplan and Mark Kilpatrick, chief product and brand officer) debuted at FinovateFall 2015:

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Credit Karma Thinks Mobile with Snowball Acquisition

By David Penn Posted on January 4, 2016
Categories: Credit Karma

“Snowball” isn’t just a strategy for repaying debt. It’s also the name of the first acquisition by personal finance and credit management platform, Credit Karma.

“We have tens of thousands of data points on a particular customer at any time,” Credit Karma CTO Ryan Graciano told TechCrunch last week. “But sorting through all that … is a very tricky thing to do, especially in a way where you’re not overwhelming the user with spurious notifications.”

And that’s where Snowball comes in. The app was developed in 2014 to aggregate multiple Android-based messaging apps. Credit Karma plans to use the technology to deliver actionable mobile notifications, and they like the fact that the platform is native to Android. “Android is a key platform for us,” Graciano said. “And these guys have a really amazing experience on Android.”

From left: Credit Karma CEO Ken Lin, founder, and VP Nichole Mustard, business development, demonstrated Credit Karma’s Debt Manager platform at FinovateSpring 2009.

Five members of Snowball’s six-person team will join Credit Karma, including Snowball CEO Anish Acharya who will serve as senior director for product management. Snowball had raised $2.3 million in funding from investors including Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital and Greylock Partners.

Founded in July 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Credit Karma specializes in providing credit management information, including free credit monitoring, credit scores, reports, and email alerts. The company has raised more than $368 million in financing, including its most recent $175 million Series D round in June 2015 . Credit Karma was named to Fast Company’s 2015 Silicon Valley “Nice” list, and was recognized by Glassdoor as one of the “Best Places to Work in 2016” in December, the same month the company joined 19 fellow Finovate alums on the first Forbes Fintech 50. In November 2015, Credit Karma celebrated giving away its billionth free credit score since launching in 2008.

Credit Karma demonstrated its Debt Manager platform at FinovateSpring 2009.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on January 4, 2016
Categories: CBW Bank, Credit Karma, Fiserv, Global Debt Registry, Radius, Urban FT, WealthForge, Zopa

On Finovate.com

“Credit Karma Thinks Mobile with Snowball Acquisition“

“Finovate Debuts: Urban FT Brings a Social PFM to Prepaid Cardholders”

Around the web

Let’s Talk Payments features several Finovate alums in its look at fintech in Europe. Remember FinovateEurope 2016 is just over one month away.

American Banker highlights Global Debt Registry in a review of companies tackling the problem of debt collection.

WealthForge publishes its 2015 Year in Review in infographic form.

American Banker recognizes CBW Bank’s Suresh Ramamurthi as Innovator of the Year.

Suffolk Bancorp in N.Y. Names Fiserv Core Processor (paywall).

Zopa reviews 2015 stats and discloses 2016 plans.

MyBankTracker features Radius.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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