FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Investify

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Investify

investifyHomepage

FEULogowithDate A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500 fintech professionals. Register today.

 

Investify was founded in Luxembourg by award-winning asset managers, outstanding software specialists and top experts for advisory processes. Investify sets new levels in wealth management and customer experience.

Features

  • Playfully define your personalized investment strategy
  • Add motive-based investments in line with your risk tolerance
  • Receive a fully digital customer experience from account opening to portfolio review

Why it’s great
Investify provides private banking services to almost everyone. For a fraction of traditional costs, customers can invest in what they believe in and experience a high digital advisory level.

investifypresenter1Presenters

Tobias Haustein, CTO, Founder
Haustein is a banking and asset-management-software specialist with more than 20 years of professional experience. He is an entrepreneur and chief technology officer of aixigo, a leading advisory software provider in Germany.
LinkedIn

investifypresenter2Sebastian Hasenack, Head of Product Management
Hasenack is an asset manager and investment product specialist with a proven track record. He is highly specialized in product origination and portfolio management in highly regulated markets.
LinkedIn

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: myInvenio

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: myInvenio

myInvenioHomepage

FEULogowithDate A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500 fintech professionals. Register today.

 

myInvenio is a business-process solution that automatically draws the processes by reading banking and finance IT systems’ data, revealing its bottlenecks, critical activities, and resources.

Features

  • Compares real-life business process with business reference model and KPI – is visual and immediate
  • Drastically reduces analysis and improvements costs
  • Allows for multiple users, works cross-platform, and is browser-based

Why it’s great
myInvenio is a process-intelligence solution that automatically analyzes your processes to achieve performance increases at a fraction of the cost.

Presenters

Massimiliano Delsante, Chief Executive Officer
Delsante is an entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the IT business, supporting banking, automotive and fashion industries by working on business process and workflow-management projects.
LinkedIn

Modesta Jonauskyte, Sales & Marketing Department
Jonauskyte is a graduate of communication and public relations with valuable experience in marketing and a passion for IT innovations.
LinkedIn

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: InvestGlass

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: InvestGlass

InvestGlassHomepage

FEULogowithDate A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500 fintech professionals. Register today.

 

InvestGlass offers the industry’s leading robo-advisor for professional investors solving suitability and appropriateness of advice.

Features

  • Receive relevant leads and actionable storytelling
  • Increase accounts profitability
  • Facilitate compliance duties

Why it’s great
Automatic advisories 
are revolutionizing 
the value chain.

InvestGlassPresenterPresenter

Alexandre Gaillard, CEO
Gaillard is CEO and founder of InvestGlass SA, the first Swiss robotic advisor for bankers and brokers. He also serves as a board member on the Swiss Chinese Chamber of Commerce and previously worked at Union Bancaire Privée, Bank of China.
LinkedIn

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Xpenditure

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Xpenditure

XpenditureHomepage

FEULogowithDate A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500 fintech professionals. Register today.

 

Xpenditure is a leading expense-management solution that helps you save time managing your expenses. Xpenditure automates the complex expense-management flow. The company’s motto is: Xpenditure—Claim Back Your Time.

Features

  • Reward colleagues who save the company money by spending less than defined
  • Integrate directly with several global financial institutions
  • Save time reclaiming VAT with our integrated solutions

Why it’s great
Xpenditure is driven by a passion to save users’ time when managing expenses. This informs all decisions it makes. As a result, the company’s approach is unlike others who seek to replicate offline process online.

XpenditurePresenter1Presenters

Wim Derkinderen, CCO, Co-founder
Derkinderen is a co-founder, the CCO and the executive chairman of Xpenditure. Derkinderen has a passion for SaaS and technology; he is involved in multiple startups.
LinkedIn

XpenditurePresenter2Koen Christiaens, Chief Product Officer
Christiaens is chief product officer at Xpenditure and defines the product strategy, ensuring constant innovation and improvement so Xpenditure continues to lead the expense-management market.
LinkedIn

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Asseco

FinovateEurope Sneak Peek: Asseco

AssecoHomepage

FEULogowithDate A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500 fintech professionals. Register today.

 

Asseco is the fastest growing of the top-10 software vendors in Europe, specializing in advanced software solutions for banks and other financial institutions.

Features

  • Innovative mini-applications concept: flexibility and customization for a great user experience
  • Versatile and multidimensional omnichannel architecture
  • Single solution that runs on multiple devices

Why it’s great
Asseco Customer Banking Platform is a unique solution that integrates the functionality of internet and mobile banking based on an innovative mini-applications concept.AssecoPresenter1

Presenters

Artur Wiza, Managing Director Corporate Communication
Wiza is an experienced sales and marketing executive with a strong track record within the banking and IT industry.
LinkedInAssecoPresenter2

Tomasz Leś, Senior Product Manager
Leś serves as senior product manager of internet and mobile banking for retail and corporate customers. He has experience in designing and developing products for banks.
LinkedIn

AssecoPresenter3Pola Wiza, student
Wiza is a student and heavy user of social and mobile apps.

Taulia Announces Record New Bookings; New CMO Holzapfel

Taulia Announces Record New Bookings; New CMO Holzapfel

Taulia_homepage_Jan2016b

A year-over-year gain of 219% in new bookings growth is the highlight of a record fourth quarter from financial supply-chain innovator Taulia, which added 50,000 suppliers across 71 countries in Q4. New customers include “two of the world’s top 10 retailers” as well as a “leading pharmaceutical manufacturer and one of the largest U.S. hospital networks.”

Taulia also announced hiring Barbara Holzapfel as its new chief marketing officer. Holzapfel was previously CMO at Addepar, and served on the leadership team at SAP.

Taulia_BarbaraHolzapfelTaulia CEO Cedric Bru called Holzapfel a “powerhouse” and praised her expertise in strategic marketing and operations. “From incubating SAP’s supplier-relationship management business to driving significant growth through innovation strategies, she has time and again proven her leadership and marketing savvy,” Bru said.

Taulia’s new CMO will join a relatively new C-level management. Earlier this month the company hired a new Chief Financial Officer, John Varughese, and Bru himself joined Taulia as CEO less than a year ago last April. Before working with SAP, Holzapfel did strategic marketing at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, and a business degree from Germany’s Universität des Saarlandes.

In addition to tripling new bookings from the previous year, Taulia highlighted a number of other quarterly and 2015 milestones:

  • Provided more than $50 billion in financing to suppliers in more than 100 countries
  • Maintained  a 100% customer renewal rate
  • Forged a strategic alliance with KPMG
  • Earned recognition as a 2015 National Best and Brightest Company to Work For
  • Raised $46 million in funding, bringing total capital to more than $130 million

Founded in June 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Taulia demonstrated its Enhanced Discounting at FinovateEurope 2015.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Taulia Announces Record New Bookings; New CMO Holzapfel”
  • MX Recruits Don MacDonald, Former Intel and Fiserv CMO”

Around the web

  • Cachet Financial Solutions deploys its Select Mobile Deposit solution for Kentucky-based Whitaker Bank Corporation.
  • UBS hires Markit to manage its Investment Bank’s investible indices.
  • The Hindu quotes Cloud Lending Solutions’ CEO and co-founder Snehal Fulzele on digital transformation.
  • Personal Capital launches Financial Fitness program for employers to help employees reach their wealth goals.
  • Zopa wins Personal Loan Provider of the Year at the Consumer Moneyfacts Awards 2016.
  • Bank Innovation features video of Ripple CEO Chris Larsen discussing the internet of value at Davos.
  • CB&S Bank selects Insuritas to power its insurance-agency solution for customers.

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.

 

SuiteBox Wins Mobile Category of KPMG Fintech Innovation Challenge

SuiteBox Wins Mobile Category of KPMG Fintech Innovation Challenge

SuiteBox_homepage_Jan2016b

Less than a month away from its Finovate debut, SuiteBox earned top honors in the mobile category of the KPMG Fintech Innovation Challenge.

The New Zealand-based company’s technology enables users to hold, manage, and record meetings online as well as share, analyze, and sign documents with any web connection via a virtual office environment.

SuiteBox_video

(Click image to play video)

“This success is a ringing endorsement of the opportunity for truly mobile virtual meetings between professionals and their clients across many industries,” SuiteBox CEO Richard Mannell said. “SuiteBox is excited to be at the forefront of delivering mobile office solutions globally.”

Organized by fellow Finovate alum Matchi, the KPMG Fintech Innovation Challenge is designed to encourage collaboration between fintech startups and FIs. Through the Challenge, six companies are selected by a panel of judges, and matched up with financial organizations to develop their technologies. On 10/11 February, the six companies will participate in the KPMG FinTech Innovation Summit in London along with a number of FIs including:

  • AIB (Ireland)
  • Bank Hapoalim (Israel)
  • Caixa Bank (Spain)
  • Liberty Group (South Africa)
  • Nationwide (United Kingdom)
  • Rabobank (Netherlands)
  • Standard Bank (South Africa)
  • Westpac (Australia)

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Newmarket, Auckland, SuiteBox has more than 200 companies currently using its technology. This includes financial planners like Midwinter Financial Services, which announced in November that it would integrate SuiteBox, and independent financial advisory firm Canopy Private, “a major adopter of virtual advice solutions.”

Currently expanding in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and United Kingdom, SuiteBox will demonstrate its technology at FinovateEurope 2016 in London in February.

CEO Interview: Nexmo’s Tony Jamous

CEO Interview: Nexmo’s Tony Jamous

NexmoHomepage

Nexmo is a global cloud communications platform company providing communication APIs and SDKs for voice, text, messaging, phone verification, and chat-app connectivity.

At FinDEVr San Francisco 2015, Nexmo showed how its APIs and SDKs help companies such as Expedia, Zipcar, and Viber increase security, decrease fraud, and protect user identity—without compromising the user experience. To dig a bit deeper, we recently spoke with the San Francisco-based company’s CEO, Tony Jamous.

To dig a bit deeper, we recently spoke with the San Francisco-based company’s CEO, Tony Jamous. Prior to founding Nexmo in 2010, Jamous worked at Paymo, which was acquired by BOKU in 2009.

In his interview, Jamous spoke with us about the inspiration for Nexmo, the company’s competitive advantages, and its challenges.


Finovate: What was the impetus behind creating Nexmo?TonyJamous

Jamous: Nexmo was created to reduce the barriers to entry for developers to innovate with communication technologies and enable scalable and global high-quality communication infrastructure. Imagine how hard it would have been for Airbnb, one of our global customers, to individually connect to more than 200 carrier networks using arcane telecommunications protocols.

Early on, we were obsessed with building networks and investing in cloud technologies to sustain quality of network as our customers scaled their businesses. Nexmo uniquely connects our customers’ traffic as closely to carriers as is physically possible to reduce message and call latency. We also measure quality feedback for every transaction and adapt how each message or voice call is being routed in real time to continually improve overall quality.


Finovate: Your solutions are used in a number of industries. What is unique about the communications and fraud problems in the financial services sector?

Jamous: The phone number has emerged in recent years as a user-friendly way to identify and authenticate real people. Our APIs, especially Verify (pictured below) and Number Insight, are designed to enable financial services players to easily embed two (or more) factor authentication, and gather data on the phone number during the transaction. These tools enable financial service providers to reduce fraud without the need to gain expertise in teleco rules and regulations.

NexmoVerify


Finovate: What is the most creative solution you’ve seen a financial services company build using a Nexmo API?

Jamous: Bitcoin platforms have been driving innovation in fraud prevention at a faster rate than any other segment within the fintech space, and Nexmo works with many of the leading bitcoin companies.

To secure your bitcoins from theft, enabling phone-number two-factor authentication with the Nexmo Verify SDK or API is strongly recommended. This involves sending a one-time password (OTP) to a user over a separate communication channel (SMS or voice) rather than the IP channel (internet) used by the bitcoin exchange or wallet. Aside from sending payments, phone-number verification can also be required for registration, login, resetting passwords and authenticating changes made to your [specific] bitcoin exchange or wallet account. Bitcoin theft might be irreversible, but you can prevent it with an extra layer of protection using Nexmo’s Verify API or Verify SDK.


Finovate: What are the biggest challenges for Nexmo?

Jamous: Nexmo has reached a phase in which we need to both scale the business and improve operational efficiency, all while keeping a priority on customer-facing teams and tools. We have a long journey ahead, which will be both challenging and exciting for the team.


Nexmo will demo what’s new with its Verify SDK at FinovateEurope on 9/10 February in London. Tickets are selling fast; register today to secure your seat.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • SuiteBox Wins Mobile Category of KPMG Fintech Innovation Challenge” (See SuiteBox at FinovateEurope 2016 in London next month.)

Around the web

  • Financial reporter profiles Big Data Scoring, founded in Scandanavia and headquartered in the United Kingdom.
  • Envestnet | Yodlee to bring account aggregation and PFM tools to Australian Superannuation Fund, QSuper.
  • Creative Boom lists Xero, FreeAgent, Expensify, QuickBooks, Mint, and Shoeboxed in its roundup of must-have apps for freelancers.
  • ACI Worldwide launches UP Retail Payments, combining technologies to produce an end-to-end enterprise payments solution.
  • Bank Innovation features Dave Foss, new CEO for Jack Henry & Associates.
  • CREALOGIX forges digital banking partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). Join CREALOGIX in London for FinovateEurope next month.
  • PaymentEye interviews Arroweye Solutions CEO Render Dahiya on how EMV migration will impact issuers.

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.

Fintech Fundings: 23 Companies Raise $2.7 Billion Week Ending Jan 22

Fintech Fundings: 23 Companies Raise $2.7 Billion Week Ending Jan 22

money_yuanLast week, we set the record for most fintech deals in a single week with 28. This week, we established a new mark (by a large margin) for the highest weekly dollar total with $2.7 billion. The previous record was $1.6 billion the third week of August 2015. These are mind-boggling numbers. Imagine this: Your company, JD.com, raises $1 billion, and you are not even the biggest deal, as Chinese rival Lufax brings in $1.2 billion the very same week.

All told, 23 fintech companies worldwide brought in $2.733 billion. That included four Finovate alums who raised a total of more than $190 million:

Year-to-date, fintech companies have raised $3.5 billion in equity and debt worldwide, almost six times the $680 million raised during the first three weeks of 2015. And the number of deals is up 67% (75 compared to 45 in 2015).

Here are the fintech deals by size from 16 Jan to 22 Jan 2016:

Lufax
Chinese P2P lender
Latest round: $1.22 billion Series B (at $18.5 billion valuation)
Total raised: $1.7 billion
HQ: Shanghai, China
Tags: Consumer, credit, person-to-person, marketplace lender, underwriting, investing, Ping Am (investor)
Source: Crunchbase, Crowdfund Insider

JD Finance
Financial subsidiary of JD.com (direct sales company)
Latest round: $1 billion at $7.1 billion valuation
Total raised: $1 billion
HQ: Chaoyang, China
Tags: Consumer, SMB, credit, deposits, mobile, banking
Source: Crunchbase

WeLab
Consumer alt-credit provider
Latest round: $160 million Series B
Total raised: $180 million
HQ: Hong Kong, China
Tags: Consumer, credit, mobile, underwriting, lending, ING Bank (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

LendUp
Payday loan alternative
Latest round: $150 million Series B (mix of equity/debt)
Total raised: $164 million (mix of equity/debt)
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, credit, lending, underwriting, mobile, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Digital Asset
Distributed ledger technology for financial services
Latest round: $50 million
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Enterprise, blockchain, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, database, securities trading, custody
FI investors: JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO, Santander, PNC, Citigroup
Source: FT Partners

BlueVine
Small-business invoice factoring
Latest round: $40 million Series C
Total raised: $64 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: SMB, credit, factoring, accounts receivables financing, underwriting, commercial credit, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Blend Labs
Mortgage processing platform
Latest round: $40 million Series C
Total raised: $65 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Enterprise, mortgage banking/brokers, credit, home loans, process automation
Source: FT Partners

Zameen.com
Pakistani residential real estate portal
Latest round: $2o million Series C
Total raised: $29 million
HQ: Lahore, Pakistan
Tags: Consumer, real estate, lead gen, mortgage, home buying, agents
Source: Crunchbase

Housing.com (aka Locon Solutions)
Indian residential real estate portal
Latest round: $14.7 million Series
Total raised: $154.2 million
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, real estate, lead gen, mortgage, home buying, agents
Source: Crunchbase

Travelers Box
Kiosk to convert foreign coins and currency into gift cards
Latest round: $10 million Series
Total raised: $14.5 million
HQ: Istanbul, Turkey
Tags: Consumer, FX, hardware, gift cards
Source: Crunchbase

Neyber
Platform for employers to lend to employees
Latest round: $8.56 million Series
Total raised: $8.56 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, B2B2C, credit, underwriting, HR, employee benefits, loans
Source: Crunchbase

PayIt
Government mobile payment processor
Latest round: $4.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.5 million
HQ: Kansas City, Missouri
Tags: Consumer, payments, tickets, B2G2C, merchants, acquiring, debit/credit cards
Source: Crunchbase

CapLinked
Cloud-based platform for coordinating asset sales, financings and M&A
Latest round: $3.5 million
Total raised: $9.4 million
HQ: Manhattan Beach, California
Tags: SMB, deals, investing, investment banking, advisers, Peter Thiel (investor)
Source: Crunchbase, American Banker

Solovis
Investment management platform for advisers
Latest round: $3.25 million
Total raised: $3.5 million
HQ: Birmingham, Alabama
Tags: Investment managers, wealth management, investing, insurance, family office
Source: Crunchbase

LoanHero
Point-of-sale financing
Latest round: $2.5 million Seed
Total raised: $4.6 million
HQ: La Jolla, California
Tags: Consumer, credit, POS, underwriting, loans, purchase financing, tablet
Source: Crunchbase

EasyPolicy
Indian insurance portal
Latest round: $2.2 million Seed
Total raised: $2.2 million
HQ: Uttar Pradesh, India
Tags: Consumer, insurance, lead gen, price comparison, car/auto, life
Source: Crunchbase

Linxo
Personal financial manager
Latest round: $2.18 million Seed
Total raised: $2.18 million
HQ: Aix-en-Provence, France
Tags: Consumer, personal finance management, PFM, spending, budgeting, mobile, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Cashforce
Enterprise cash management
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Herentals, Belgium
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, accounting, cash management, treasury, commercial banking
Source: Let’s Talk Payments

Fisdom
Mobile personal investing
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: Consumer, investing, savings, personal finance
Source: Crunchbase

IP Commerce
SMB accounting technology (CommerceSync)
Latest round: Undisclosed Series A
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: SMB, accounting, developers, ecommerce, financial management, payments, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Central Technology Services
Software and IT financing
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, enterprise, commercial credit, asset financing
Source: FT Partners

EPS
Retail banking and ATM technology
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: $10 million (previously)
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Financial institutions, B2B2C, deposits, banking, payments
Source: FT Partners

Precidian
Investment management
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Bedminster, New Jersey
Tags: Enterprise, mutual funds, ETFs, trading, advisers, wealth management, Legg Mason (investor)
Source: FT Partners

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Image licensed from 123rf.com

Linxo Raises €2 Million from Crédit Agricole

Linxo Raises €2 Million from Crédit Agricole

Linxo_homepage_Jan2016

French PFM innovator Linxo (a FinovateEurope 2011 alum) has raised €2 million in funding from new investor Crédit Agricole, and existing investor Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. Having raised €500,000 in 2013, the company’s total capital now stands at more than $2.6 million.

The investment will help strenghten Linxo’s position in France, as well as fund the company’s expansion into other European markets. Linxo also plans to add talent to both its technical and communications teams.

Linxo_stage_FEU2011

From left: Co-founders Hugues Pisapia, managing director, and CEO Bruno Van Haetsdaele demonstrated the Linxo platform at FinovateEurope 2011.

Bruno Van Haetsdaele and Hugues Pisapia, Linxo co-founders, said the investment was a show of confidence in their platform. “These investors confirm our development while leaving us the independence and autonomy to continue to grow rapidly,” said Van Haetsdaele. The pair says the trust of leading banking players showed a strong signal of confidence in the security of Linxo’s solution and the sustainability of their business model.

Linxo specializes in personal finance management and savings-optimization solutions for consumers. It’s the first account-aggregation service supported by French FIs. More than simply aggregating accounts, Linxo has opened up its platform to application developers looking to build features such as partner dashboards, rewards and offers programs, and more.

Linxo demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2011 in London. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France, Linxo employs seven and says its platform has been used by more than 850,000 businesses and individuals.