PRUDENA Launches Online Marketplace for Stock Market Research

PRUDENA Launches Online Marketplace for Stock Market Research

Prudena_homepage_Nov2015

PRUDENA launched its online stock market research marketplace last week, helping retail investors and independent financial advisers access the same kind of quantified stock market research used by institutional money managers for years.

For PRUDENA co-founder and CEO Charlie Strout, the new online marketplace is the latest example of the “sharing economy” applied to financial technology. “Investors love our product because they can essentially hire a talented analyst that previously sold their research only to large institutions,” Strout explained. “Analysts love us because we give them loads of tools to save them time when producing their research and provide a platform where they can better monetize their work.”

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Prudena founder and CEO Charlie Strout presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014.

PRUDENA emphasizes quantitative research because this kind of research is typically too expensive for individual investors and independent financial advisers. Using data aggregation, financial modeling, and report-generation wizards, PRUDENA focuses on behavioral economics and finance, value investing, and quantitative financial analysis to give insights to investors and advisers that differ from the qualitative research many investors rely on. And with more than 500 registered users on its platform, Strout believes PRUDENA’s crowdfunding approach is making this kind of quantitative research easier to get and more affordable.

PRUDENA is available for free and by subscription. Free features include portfolio-monitoring tools and alerts, and modeling for the stocks in the S&P 500 and Dow industrials. Subscription services provide modeling for all stocks, brokerage-account aggregation, and more support options, including email, phone, and a one-on-one “Get Started” session. All subscribers receive a copy of “The Morning Monte” market analysis newsletter, as well.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York City, PRUDENA demonstrated how its platform automates the analysis of financial statements at the inaugural FinDEVr conference in 2014 in San Francisco.

Finovate Debuts: RedCloud Technology Helps Financial Institutions Build Regulatory Compliant Products

Finovate Debuts: RedCloud Technology Helps Financial Institutions Build Regulatory Compliant Products

RedCloudHomepage

The RedCloud 1 Platform by RedCloud Technologies is a transaction engine and processing platform. By leveraging RedCloud 1, financial service providers can offer regulated digital financial services such as domestic payments, remittances, mobile wallets, lending, savings, and insurance.

The RedCloud 1 solution, which can be co-branded or white-labeled, can act as an end-to-end transaction platform or simply form a new front-end interface to existing backend processes. It is designed to help effectively deal with regulatory constraints.

Front-facing platform

The RedCloud 1 platform offers a simple, omnichannel user experience. For example, when using its remittance capabilities to send money internationally, consumers log in with a unique identifier (for example, email address, phone number, or Twitter account), then enter the amount and their PIN. RedCloud processes all transaction types, including cross-border payments and remittances, in real time with no settlement delay.

DynamicEndUserUI

 

Behind the scenes

The RedCloud administration view offers multiple tools, such as a transaction-search capability and a CRM module, that enable service providers to manage the platform.

Dashboard

The analytics suite offers a real-time bank reconciliation view that shows both sides of all transactions. Preconfigured insights are not only useful to service providers, but also to agents and merchant clients, who can use transaction data to drive business strategy.

PreconfigAnalyticsDashboard

The company’s configuration tool has a drag-and-drop WYSIWYG interface which enables non-technical employees to bring new products to market with no need for IT involvement.

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What’s next

RedCloud is contracting with several organizations across Africa and Asia.

RedCloud founder, Justin Floyd and product manager, Matthew Smith, demoed RedCloud 1 at FinovateFall 2015:

http://finovate.wistia.com/medias/ec4vzxoet0?embedType=api&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=800

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate debuts: RedCloud Technology Helps Financial Institutions Build Regulatory Compliant Products”
  • “PRUDENA Launches Online Marketplace for Stock Market Research”

Around the web

  • PYMNTS looks at Akimbo’s next venture, Akimbo Now.
  • Dealstruck crosses the $100m mark.
  • Deluxe Corporation celebrates its 100th birthday by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
  • PYMNTS interviews Michael Garrity, co-founder and CEO of Financeit.
  • Inside Big Data interviews Dr. Venkat Krinivasan, CEO of RAGE Frameworks.
  • The Financial Brand’s Ron Shevlin takes a look at the future of Venmo.
  • InvestinGoal provides a free eToro base course to help introduce new investors to social trading.
  • Strands brings its PFM solution to Temenos Connect and Mobile Internet Banking.
  • Geezeo builds custom financial event app: Life by Geezeo.

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.

Blooom Named “One in a Million” in Kauffman Foundation Startup Competition

Blooom Named “One in a Million” in Kauffman Foundation Startup Competition

Blooom_homepage_November2015

Just over a month after securing $4 million in an investment round led by QED Investors, 401(k) innovator Blooom has been named “One in a Million” in the startup competition sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation.

“All of the finalists were incredibly talented,” said Chris Costello, Blooom CEO. “I was humbled to be considered among the best from across the nation. And we are very proud to have won in our hometown.”

Blooom beat out more than 350 startups to win the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s “One in a Million” competition this week. The company will take home a grand prize of $10,000.

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Blooom co-founders (left) Chris Costello and Randy AufDerHeide demonstrated the Blooom platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

Wendy Guillies, Kauffman Foundation president and CEO, said that the competition was designed to highlight companies that participated in the Foundation’s “1 Million Cups” events, which showcase entrepreneurs from a variety of fields.

“We created the 1 Million Cups program to help educate, engage, and connect entrepreneurs within their own communities,” Guillies explained. The program holds events weekly in more than 70 communities in the United States, culminating with the “One in a Million” contest held as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Learn more about the Kauffman Foundation.

Earning a second place prize of $5,000 was David Naumann, founding partner of wet phone rescue kiosk maker, DryBox. Third place and $1,000 went to Matthew Rooda, founder of SwineTech, which uses technology to help keep “piglets from being crushed by their mothers.”

Blooom calls itself a “new way to 401(k).” Taking advantage of the fact that 401(k) owners can be among the least engaged in their own investment finances, blooom has created a platform that essentially provides roboadvisory services specifically for 401(k) and other employer-provided retirement accounts. Signing up for the service is easy, and accounts stay at their current institutions. Blooom provides free 401(k) analysis and charges $1 per month on accounts less than $20,000 and $15 per month for larger accounts.

Founded in February 2013 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, blooom demonstrated its platform at FinovateFall 2014.

Coinbase Unveils America’s First Bitcoin Debit Card

Coinbase Unveils America’s First Bitcoin Debit Card

Coinbase_Shift_homepage_Nov2015

It may be fashionable these days to praise the blockchain while dismissing bitcoin. But the news today that Coinbase is launching a new bitcoin debit card in the United States is a reminder that bitcoin is alive, well, and working its way closer to the mainstream economy.

Coinbase’s new The Shift Card is the product of a partnership between Coinbase and Shift Payments. The card can be used in 24 states in the United States and at more than 38 million merchants around the world. There is a $10 issuance fee with no additional fees “for a limited time.” Cards will begin arriving after November 20th.

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Coinbase Business Development Managers Nahid Samsami and Roger Gu demonstrated Coinbase Instant Exchange at FinovateSpring 2014.

Adam White, Coinbase VP for business development and strategy, called the Shift Card “a key element” in making bitcoin easier to buy, sell, and transact with. Both Coinbase and Dwolla accounts are supported. Users in eligible states can order the card by connecting to their Coinbase account, and authorizing the fee (paid in bitcoin). Shift relies on Coinbase Connect which provides integration, permissions, and authentications to more than 2.8 million Coinbase users.

The Shift Card is accompanied by the Shift app that provides account balances and transactions. Available in iOS and Android, the Shift Card works anywhere Visa is accepted. Plans are to enable cardholders to connect to banks, airline miles and other alternative-currency accounts in the near future.

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Shift Card’s fee structure includes a 3% fee for international transactions; $3.50, international ATMs; $2.50, domestic ATMs. There is no annual fee and no charge for domestic transactions. There is a daily spending limit of $1,000 and daily ATM withdrawal limits of $500 from Dwolla accounts and $200 from Coinbase accounts. More information on fees is here.

Coinbase has had a busy autumn. In November alone the company announced a partnership with Fidelity Charitable to enable bitcoin contributions to donor-advised funds, launched mobile price charts, international translations, and consolidated accounts for bitcoin, and teamed up with USAA to make it easier for members to use bitcoin. Coinbase also added support for 3D Secure credit and debit cards in October and launched in Singapore in September.

Founded in July 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, Coinbase demonstrated its Instant Exchange technology at FinovateSpring 2014. Brian Armstrong is CEO. The company has raised more than $106 million in funding and includes Andreessen Horowitz, BBVA Ventures, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) among its investors.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Coinbase Unveils America’s First Bitcoin Debit Card”
  • “Blooom Named “One in a Million” in Kauffman Foundation Startup Competition”

Around the web

  • Cardlytics ranked 25 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500.
  • Entrust Datacard’s Kurt Ishaug named one of 24 CFOs of the year by the Minn./St. Paul Business Journal in the “large private company” category.
  • Prosper Marketplace announces mobile SDK for the marketplace lending industry.
  • DriveWealth adds Carlo Macchi as director of global institutional accounts. See DriveWealth at FinovateEurope 2016 in London in February.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews Arroweye Solutions’ President and CEO Render Dahya on payment trends in 2015.
  • TRADE names Markit to its Hall of Fame.
  • Signifyd releases extension for the Magento 2 platform.
  • LendingRobot to bring its automated robo-investing to Funding Circle’s small-business lending 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.

Personal Capital Lowers Investment Minimum From $100,000 to $25,000

Personal Capital Lowers Investment Minimum From $100,000 to $25,000

PersonalCapitalHomepage1115

Robo-advisers have been on a roll. By year-end they are expected to amass $53 billion under management, up more than 3x from $16 billion last year. While these numbers are dwarfed by the $20 trillion wealth-management market, robo-adviser growth has garnered much attention.

In an effort to capture more of that growth, Personal Capital is lowering its minimum investment from $100,000 to $25,000. The San Francisco-based company expects the lower threshold will help tap into its 850,000 users who track their investments with its free online platform. About half of these users are eligible to meet the new $25,000 investment minimum.

Lowering the minimum will also help Personal Capital compete with Wealthfront which requires a minimum of $500, and Betterment which does not have a minimum investment requirement.

The New York Times recently reported stats from three robo-advisers:

Company Min. Investment Req’d Users AUM Average AUM/ User
Personal Capital $25,000 6,000 $1.6 billion $260,000
Wealthfront $500 37,400 $2.6 billion $70,000
Betterment $1 118,000 $3 billion $25,000

Personal Capital most recently presented to a crowd of developers at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco. The company launched One Click Investment Proposals at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose.

Betterment last demoed its multiple goals feature at FinovateFall 2011, and before changing its name in 2010, Wealthfront launched as KaChing at FinovateSpring 2009.

Finovate Debuts: DriveWealth Brings U.S. Stocks to Overseas Investors

Finovate Debuts: DriveWealth Brings U.S. Stocks to Overseas Investors

DriveWealth_homepage_Nov2015

For the majority of people living in the developing world, it is easier to buy a pair of Nike shoes than it is to buy a share of Nike stock.

DriveWealth is changing this dynamic through its retail investing platform, designed to give consumers around the globe access to the U.S. stock market. DriveWealth calls its full-stack platform, “Brokerage-As-A-Service” because it can handle the entire customer lifecycle from onboarding to trade execution. “No middle men, no friction,” explained Michael Fitzgerald, DriveWealth’s head of corporate strategy, during the week of FinovateSpring 2015. Among other things, lack of a middle man enables DriveWealth to provide B2C pricing of $2.99 per trade.

At Finovate, DriveWealth demonstrated its BaaS platform, reminding attendees that with most of the retail wealth coming from developing markets, the opportunity is wide open to provide investors in emerging markets with the ability to trade in stocks of some of the best-known—and most successful—companies in the world.

Company facts:

  • founded in May 2012
  • headquartered in Chatham, New Jersey
  • raised more than $10 million in funding
  • serves more customers in more than 140 countries
  • Robert Cortright is CEO

How it works

DriveWealth works by partnering with global companies to offer their customers access to U.S. stocks on their platform. “Historically,” Fitzgerald pointed out, “only the wealthiest foreign investors could access these stocks.” DriveWealth provides the widget, and companies using the platform get to use their own brand and interface.

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Michael Fitzgerald, DriveWealth head of corporate strategy, demonstrated the DriveWealth Brokerage-as-a-Service platform at FinovateSpring 2015.

Getting started on DriveWealth is straightforward, with investors able to fund their accounts through a wide variety of methods: credit, debit, SafetyPay, wire transfers, paper checks—even using the services of fellow Finovate alums like Dwolla and TransferWise.

DriveWealth_stage_FS2015_002

As a trading and investing platform, DriveWealth is available as a white-label service, and can be deployed in a day or two. Using a mock-up brokerage in their demo, Taj Mahal Securities, we can see an example of the interface. Investors can see which stocks are available for investment, review favorite lists, analyze metrics about the underlying company, study charts of price action and, ultimately, buy shares.

DriveWealth_stage_FS2015_005

Technically, DriveWealth provides its partners with both low-level APIs and high-level HTML5 widgets. APIs are available as RESTful APIs, which provide login, accounts, orders, and trades functionality, as well as fully FIX-compliant APIs for those FIs familiar with the FIX protocol. Both APIs support order types such as market, stop, and limit.

For FIs seeking an even greater level of integration, DriveWealth provides a set of embeddable HTML5 widgets. These widgets can be embedded into websites or trading apps to provide functions such as reporting, funding, trading, and onboarding.

The future

DriveWealth_stage_FS2015_006DriveWealth is most interested in meeting global financial service companies with large customer bases who offer local securities and want access to the U.S. equity markets. The company recently launched with a Chinese partner with more than 100 million customers. And Fitzgerald also mentioned the Indian stock market as a very actively traded market where Indian investors would likely take advantage of access to U.S. stocks. He also notes that global payment providers are also potential partners with DriveWealth. “We’re going for the other 99%, including the mass retail investor,” Fitzgerald explains, “and a lot of them are looking to start with a few thousand dollars rather than $100,000, so low-cost payment-transfers matter.”

“We are also interested in meeting fintech companies with products available here in the U.S., but who want access to global retail customers,” Fitzgerald said, noting that the DriveWealth platform can be leveraged for other purposes, other services. “We have a partnership structure as a B2B platform,” he said. “(Our partners) don’t have to be brokerages. They can be customer-centric companies that just want to provide the access.”

Currently in the pipeline are plans to launch with a number of large global partners. DriveWealth is also planning to offer fractional shares for investors, supporting the company’s focus on retail investors. “People can put $100 a week or a month aside and build their portfolio that way,” Fitzgerald said.

Looking further into the future, DriveWealth is interested in initiatives such as expanding aftermarket trading, which Fitzgerald says is “key for international trading and investing.” He added that DriveWealth is also looking to expand the ways investors can fund their accounts. “Debit cards, Dwolla, bitcoin …” he offered. “We want to remove as much friction as possible.”

DriveWealth will be among the more than 70 companies demonstrating their technologies at FinovateEurope 2016 in London in February. For more about our upcoming conference in the United Kingdom, visit our FinovateEurope 2016 page.


Check out the video from DriveWealth’s FinovateSpring 2015 demonstration.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Debuts: DriveWealth Brings U.S. Stocks to Overseas Investors”
  • “FinovateEurope 2016 Presenting Companies Announced
  • “Personal Capital Lowers Investment Minimum from $100,000 to $25,000″

Around the web

  • Intuit teams up with Kiva to provide small business financing via QuickBooks financing platform.
  • National Bank of Abu Dhabi, (Nbad) Egypt, to deploy BankWorld from CR2.
  • Xero announces new partnerships with Bigcommerce and KPMG.
  • Open Bank Project partners with Ulster Bank to organize Hack Make the Bank, Jan 29 thru 31, 2016.
  • CIBC and Thinking Capital partner to expand SMB lending in Canada.
  • Entrust Datacard releases Datacard MX Series Laser 350 that provides new personalization features.
  • CardFlight announces EMV approval and certifications via TSYS for mPOS solution.
  • Taulia joins the OFS portal community.
  • Fidelity Charitable partners with Coinbase to allow people to contribute bitcoin to their donor-advised funds.

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

FinovateEurope 2016 Presenting Companies Announced

FinovateEurope 2016 Presenting Companies Announced

FEU15BookletIMG

For weeks we’ve been sifting through applications from companies vying to present their latest at FinovateEurope on 9/10 February 2016. Today, we’re excited to announce 59 of the 72 companies that will take the stage in London.

To watch all 70+ companies demo live, be sure to register soon. This is the final week to save £200 on FinovateEurope tickets.

We’ll announce the remaining stealth companies over the next two months.

additiv’s Descartes Finance Digital Asset Management Platform uses an array of sophisticated digital asset-management functions to provide demanding, self-directed investors with solutions to implement individualized portfolio solutions.

AdviceRobo’s Finius virtual money assistant uses machine learning-driven gamification to help borrowers and lenders manage risk by understanding the impact of future financial changes and teaching them how to respond.

Alpha Payments Cloud’s AlphaHub offers banks, merchants and payment-and-risk product vendors unlimited vendor access and orchestration, using a single integration.

Asseco Poland offers customers a tailored and satisfying banking experience for both internet and mobile banking systems.

Avoka’s digital commerce platform helps banks, insurance and wealth-management institutions overcome the challenge of “selling” financial products by offering a frictionless, omnichannel customer experience.

Backbase DBP for Wealth Management uses a beautiful customer experience that runs on any device. It uses algorithms to provide robo-advisory for traditional banks who are losing affluent customers to dedicated money managers.

BankersLab’s PortfolioQuest is an addictive simulation game for fintech investors, regulators, and bank executives to predict which managers and lending institutions will make good decisions.

Capital Preferences is an enterprise consumer-risk-profiling system that employs a series of simple investment games—based on advances in game theory, econometrics and experimental economics—to help banks, insurers and wealth managers solve growing regulatory scrutiny and unscientific profiling methods used to document client-risk preferences today.

Capitali.se’s platform for automation of trading uses a simple human language interface to help traders worldwide solve the technological barrier problem.

Capitalise.com is a one-stop-shop search and comparison site to help SMBs easily access financing.

CREALOGIX’s Digital Banking Hub uses best-of-breed functionalities and state-of-the-art technologies to flexibly deploy established banking functionalities and integrate various third-party products.

DriveWealth’s real-time fraction trading for global retail investors uses its full-stack investing platform to build diversified portfolios.

ebankIT’s platform uses innovative, omnichannel solutions to create customer traction and engagement through different channels.

Ethoca’s Alerts helps card issuers and merchants with a global collaboration network to prevent unnecessary and costly reliance on the chargeback process to resolve disputes and recover associated losses.

Envestnet’s platform helps financial professionals and investors scale goals-based wealth management using a unique mix of service and technology.

ETRONIKA’s BANKTRON uses visual attractiveness, robust tools, and an omnichannel banking approach to create products that facilitate a fintech partnership ecosystem for established banks, new fintech startups, and aggregators.

EyeVerify’s Eyeprint ID seeks to solve the security and convenience issues inherent in passwords by using biometrics that image the blood vessels in the whites of the eye.

Featurespace’s ARIC Engine spots and prevents financial services fraud-attacks in real time with its world-leading adaptive behavioral analytics.

Fintura’s comparison platform for SME loans uses a risk-adjusted rate-comparison and a quick approval process to help SMEs find cheap loans in a transparent and quick way.

HotDocs’ automation software uses its document-assembly engine to help financial services companies with the challenges they face when producing high-volume, customized, repeat documentation.

IDscan Biometrics’ new algorithm helps financial institutions authenticate identities using game-changing neural network technologies.

ING Bank’s consistent, omnichannel ecosystem improves customer experience in corporate banking for B2B banking clients.

INNOFIS’ Real-Time Sales Transformation solution uses micro-targeting and smart analytics to bring sales efficiency to financial institutions.

InvestGlass’ engagement tool uses customizable artificial intelligence to enable easy compliance for financial professionals.

investUP offers sophisticated retail investors a crowdfunding brokerage in an increasingly fragmented marketplace.

InvoiceSharing’s Accounting Robot helps businesses automate their manual invoice processing using its free electronic invoicing network.

ITSector’s Digital Credit solution offers faster access to bank credit through alternative channels.

Kontomatik’s data-aggregation solution offers data accessibility to the financial services industry.

Ledger’s security tools help make Bitcoin secure.

Lendstar offers an app without the hassle of traditional P2P transactions.

Lexmark’s onboarding solution uses a real-time, voice-driven, collaborative mobile app to eliminate the antiquated mobile experience when onboarding new customers.

meetinvest’s automated, expert-driven, single-stock robo-adviser platform explains the what, when and how of stock investing for mass-affluent and retail investors worldwide by using successful investment recipes from the world’s best investment experts without using financial jargon.

Meniga’s communication platform offers timely, contextual and targeted events and notifications to promote engagement between banks and their customers

Nexmo’s Chat App API offers a single platform for financial and banking brands to stay connected with their users.

North Side’s VerbalAccess offers consumers and businesses an effective, self-service channel using leading-edge natural language-understanding technology.

Nostrum Group helps lenders reduce customer churn.

Outside IQ’s DDIQ-cob uses a cognitive computing engine with natural language processing to offer financial execs and investors advanced due diligence in compliance matters.

Passport is an enterprise software platform that uses mobile payments to bridge the technology gap in transportation.

payever’s platform solves the buying and selling problems that merchants and customers face every day.

PaySend’s global, card-based infrastructure not only helps users remember to send remittances on time, but also keeps them from paying too much to send and receive money across borders.

Qumram’s session recording and replay technology offers financial service companies transparency in digital channels.

Refund.me Group helps financial service providers capture cardholders’ full purchasing power and become top-of-wallet by offering features that enhance their customers’ travel experience.

Risk Ident’s EVE Evaluation Engine uses data science and machine learning to assess consumer risk for ecommerce companies and financial institutions.

Sandstone Technology’s BankFast 2.0 mobile app combines industry-leading self-service onboarding, mobile banking, card-management and customer-engagement modules to deliver a highly secure and seamless customer experience.

SBDA Group’s web solution offers bank-marketing specialists a client-behavior-prediction platform that uses machine learning to transform raw data into clear insights of customer behavior.

Scalable Capital is a digital investment manager that offers investment options to make intelligent investing accessible to everyone.

SizeUp offers banks a business intelligence SaaS platform to help their SMB customers make data-driven business decisions by generating analysis that is understandable and accessible.

Spiff’s simple investment service, with the female investor demographic in mind, offers tools and inspiration for new investors.

STRANDS Discovery uses machine-learning algorithms to offer banks simplified insights into complex customer behavior hidden within big data.

Stratumn is an open standard and API that offers enterprises transparency and traceability using the Bitcoin blockchain.

Suitebox’s virtual meeting room collaboration-solution removes time and cost constraints while ensuring full compliance for risk managers, wealth managers, and insurance advisers.

SwipeStox social trading app offers traders and investors a platform to make informed trades.

TaxFree4U is a mobile processing platform that uses a network of local agents in VAT-imposing countries to allow international travelers to claim VAT refunds quickly.

TWINO marketplace offers retail and institutional investors confidence in investing in unsecured consumer loans from non-Eurozone countries by combining the peer-lending model with traditional currency and default risk-management practices.

Valuto offers an open API for multi-currency wallets to facilitate cross-border payments and collections.

Vipera’s customer application uses a proprietary matching engine to help banks and retailers better engage their customers.

VoicePIN.com’s scalable and secure cloud-based Voice Biometrics System offers a multichannel customer experience for fintech and banking companies.

Xignite’s XigniteAlerts speed reactions to critical market fluctuations by using its market-data APIs.

Xpenditure’s efficient approval process and mobile technology reduces the hassle that SME and decentralized large companies face in managing and controlling expenses.


FinovateEurope is sponsored by KPMG

FinovateEurope is partnered with bobsguide, CoinTelegraph, Let’s Talk Payments, Mapa Research, The New Economy, PLUS Journal, and World Finance.

Tuition.io Raises $5 Million in Series A

Tuition.io Raises $5 Million in Series A

Tuitionio_homepage_Nov2015

Student-loan management specialist Tuition.io has raised $5 million in Series A funding. Participating in the round were MassMutual Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Wildcat Venture Partners.

The funding takes Tuition.io’s total capital to more than $8 million. Tuition.io plans to use the capital to help acquire more enterprise customers, as well as to grow its customer service, engineering, and sales teams.

Tuitionio_stage_FF2012

Tuition.io founder and CEO Brendon McQueen demonstrated his company’s platform at FinovateFall 2012 in New York.

Calling the investment a “testament to the headway” the company has made, Tuition.io founder and CEO Brendon McQueen pointed to his company’s status as a first-mover in the field as key. “We are proud to have been the first to market at scale with an innovative financial wellness platform that enables employers to offer student-loan payments as a benefit for hiring and retention,” McQueen said. He credited Tuition.io for “helping global companies attract and engage competitive talent while simultaneously addressing the $1.3 trillion student loan crisis in the U.S.”

Bryan Stolle, a general partner with Mohr Davidow Ventures, referred to Tuition.io as a “real game-changer for recruiting millennials.” He credited the company’s enterprise platform for “empowering employers to recruit and retain employees with student-loan contributions as a benefit.”

Tuition.io helps student-loan borrowers manage their debts. The platform uses graphical visualization to make it easier for borrowers to see how much they owe, to whom, and how to pay it off sooner. In April, Tuition.io launched a new student loan benefit solution, Flex395 that lets employers directly contribute to employees’ student-loan repayments to accelerate the payoff.

Announcing the new Flex395 initiative this spring, McQueen suggested that for many young professionals entering the workforce, retiring student loan debt is a higher priority than investing in their 401(k)s. “Young people neither willingly adopt nor care about 401(k) products,” McQueen said. “However, 70% of college graduates are finishing school with student loan balances averaging nearly $30,000.”

“The question is not whether 401(k)s are beneficial—of course, they are—but rather what benefits employers can offer that are most relevant and attractive to young, talented employees,” McQueen explained.

Founded in October 2011 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Tuition.io demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2012. Since inception, the company has helped thousands of borrowers manage more than $2 billion in outstanding student loans.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVr2016-NY-(Stacked)V2Are you building new financial technology? Be sure to check out coverage from our recent developer conference in San Francisco. We’re taking the fintech developer tool showcase to New York on 29/30 March 2016. Stay tuned for details.

Developer news

  • TechCrunch: Rakuten Launches $100 Million Global Fund for Fintech Startups.
  • GitHub is rolling out a redesign for code repositories.
  • New Relic Now Lets Developers Dive Deeper Into Their Analytics.

The latest from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presenters

  • Hyperwallet launches loyalty program for independent workers.
  • Arxan announces cyber security scholarship program.
  • Avoka introduces digital account opening from within Salesforce.
  • Kabbage to power Sage’s small business loan offering.
  • Market intelligence provider Ipreo selects Xignite to provide real-time and delayed equity prices to its Investor Relations platform, BD Corporate.
  • Nexmo announces partnership with Netherlands KLM.
  • CenturyLink adds former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu to its board.
  • Banking CIO Outlook magazine features Praesidio.
  • TokBox’s new developer toolkit brings voice and video chat to Apple TV apps.
  • Thinking Capital earns Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Canada Awards.
  • Worldpay employees evaluate use of finger vein technology to authenticate payments at the POS without the need for a card.
  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews Brent Warrington, Hyperwallet CEO.

Alumni updates

  • Pymnts chats with Nymi founder and CEO, Karl Martin.
  • Deccan Herald features Cloud Lending Solutions.
  • Xero pilots program to allow users to file their GST returns.
  • MasterCard announces Ed McLaughlin as new chief information officer.
  • VentureBurn highlights Entersekt: SA’s fintech gem making it safe for millions to bank, shop online.

Stay up to date on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.