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

Backbase’s 2015 Metrics Report Cites 35% YoY Revenue Growth
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Backbase

BackbaseHomepage

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.BackbaseJourneyMgr

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 8 January, so register soon.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Deadline for Queen City Fintech Spring 2016 Accelerator is This Week

Deadline for Queen City Fintech Spring 2016 Accelerator is This Week
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

QCFinTech_homepage_Jan2016

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.

QCFinTechSpring2016

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.”

 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Soundpays Appoints Steve Doswell as new CEO

Soundpays Appoints Steve Doswell as new CEO
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Soundpays

SoundPaysHomepageSoundpays, a startup whose technology enables customers to make P2P payments using inaudible sound, has appointed a new CEO this Doswellweek. 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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FundAmerica Shares Growth Metrics, Plans for 2016

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FundAmerica

FundAmerica_homepage_Jan2016

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.

FundAmerica_stage_FS2015b

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Deadline for Queen City Fintech Spring 2016 Accelerator is This Week

Deadline for Queen City Fintech Spring 2016 Accelerator is This Week
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dyme

QCFinTech_homepage_Jan2016

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.”

 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

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

Finovate Debuts: Urban FT Brings a Social PFM to Prepaid Cardholders
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Urban FT

UrbanFTHomepage

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.

UrbanFTAccountAggregation2

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

UrbanFTActivity2

 

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.

UrbanFTOffers2

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.

UrbanFTVenue2

Social feed

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

UrbanFTSocial2

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:

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Credit Karma Thinks Mobile with Snowball Acquisition

Credit Karma Thinks Mobile with Snowball Acquisition
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Credit Karma

CreditKarma_homepage_Jan2016

“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.”

CreditKarma_stage_FS2009

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
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.

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.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Happy New Year! Webster Bank Jumpstarts Financial Resolutions

Happy New Year! Webster Bank Jumpstarts Financial Resolutions
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Holiday promotions, Webster Bank

newyearbanner_SFFCUWhile I have taken banks and credit unions to task for basically ignoring the December holiday period, the real missed opportunity is not Christmas, but New Years. The annual calendar reboot is the time when people are most likely to be thinking about their long-term finances.

Three years ago, I found only one example of a new year’s message among the largest 80 banks and credit unions. This year I looked at a few dozen websites more or less at random and again found just a single “look at your finances” message. Webster Bank not only showcased a page-dominating “financial checkup” spot, but also incorporated the message into their main pull-down (mouseover) “Bank” navigation (see first screenshot below).

The promotion is designed to get Webster customers into the branch, or on the phone, for a financial checkup. The service appears to be free of charge, although the bank doesn’t reveal specifics. Customers are asked to complete a contact-me form (see second screenshot below) with just a single qualifying question, whether the appointment is to discuss business or personal finances.

While Webster was the only FI playing the “new year resolution” card, South Florida Federal Credit Union gets an honorable mention for its timely Happy New Year graphic, one of four rotating promotions running at year-end (see last screenshot below and inset above).

——–

Webster Bank homepage (31 Dec 2015)
Note: The pull-down menus shown here also carries a similar message

websterbank_newyear_2016

 

Webster “Fresh Look” landing page (link)

webster_newyear_2


South Florida FCU homepage (31 Dec 2015)

southfloridaCU_newyears

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fintech Fundings: 15 Companies Raise $51 Million Week Ending 25 Dec 2015

Fintech Fundings: 15 Companies Raise $51 Million Week Ending 25 Dec 2015
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

Holiday_money_pigFor just the fourth time this year, weekly fintech fundings fell below the $100-million mark with 15 companies raising a total of $51 million.

The second-largest round of the week ($4 million), went to Finovate veteran Dana Bowers’ latest startup, Venminder. The Kentucky-based company has developed a vendor-management platform for banks and credit unions. Bowers is the founder of iPay Technologies, which demoed at the first Finovate in 2007, and was acquired by Jack Henry in 2010.

With just one holiday-shortened week remaining in the year, the total invested in private fintech companies YTD now stands at $18.8 billion.

Here are the deals by size from 19 Dec to 25 Dec 2015:

PokitDok
Person-to-person lender
Latest round: $35.1 million Series B
Total raised: $40.7 million
HQ: San Mateo, California
Tags: Enterprise, healthcare, payments, insurance, billing, API, developers
Source: Crunchbase

Venminder
Vendor management for financial services companies
Latest round: $4 million
Total raised: $6.3 million
HQ: Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Tags: Enterprise, risk management, compliance, operations
Source: Crunchbase

Prestiamoci
Person-to-person consumer lender
Latest round: $2.2 million Series
Total raised: $3.5 million
HQ: Milan, Italy
Tags: Consumer, lending, underwriting, sub-prime, loans, P2P, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Streami
Blockchain-based remittances
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: Seoul, South Korea
Tags: Blockchain, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, payments, remittances
Source: Crunchbase

Snapcard
Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: $1.5 million
Total raised: $4.45 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, consumer, blockchain, cryptocurrency, payments, wallet, bitcoin
Source: Crunchbase

BTCS (aka Bitcoin Shop)
Blockchain technology
Latest round: $1.4 million Post-IPO equity
Total raised: $4.2 million
HQ: Troy, Michigan
Tags: Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, payments, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

Sharesight
Investment portfolio management
Latest round: $1.35 million Seed
Total raised: $1.35 million
HQ: Wellington, Australia
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, aggregation, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

BorsadelCredito.it
Person-to-person small business lender
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $1.1 million
HQ: Milan, Italy
Tags: SME, lending, alt-credit, underwriting, sub-prime, loans, P2P, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Chronos Technologies
F0rex trading technology
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $1 million
HQ: Scottsdale, Arizona
Tags: Forex trading, investing, fx
Source: Crunchbase

Minkasu
Mobile and online payments
Latest round: $1 million Seed
Total raised: $1.75 million
HQ: Milpitas, California
Tags: Consumer, mobile wallet, security, payments
Source: Crunchbase

The PayPro
International payments
Latest round: $450,000 Seed
Total raised: $450,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, payments, billpay, fx, international payments, billpay, remittances
Source: Crunchbase

Bee
Mobile bank/card
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: $4.6 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, prepaid debit card, neo-bank, challenger bank, mobile, AXA (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

 

Depo
Escrow and renter-deposit management
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Sweden
Tags: Payments, renting, escrow, deposits, homes
Source: Crunchbase

GoldBean
Helping consumers get started in investing
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, investing, personal finance, spending, PFM, AXA (investor)
Source: FT Partners

Payable
Contractor payables solution
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: $2.1 million
HQ: Sunnyvale, California
Tags: SMB, payments, invoicing, billing, billpay, accounts payable, payroll
Source: FT Partners

——–
Image licensed from 123rf.com

 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

2015 Holiday Marketing Efforts from the Top-20 U.S. Banks

2015 Holiday Marketing Efforts from the Top-20 U.S. Banks
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, BMO Harris Bank, Citibank, Comerica Bank, Fifth Third Bancorp, Holiday promotions, Key Bank, PNC Bank, Regions Bank, TD Bank, Union Bank

The end of the year provides a unique challenge to banks. Customers are busy buying gifts, finishing year-end projects at work, and preparing for holiday travel, meal prep and/or extended family time. There isn’t an abundance of deep thought about long-term financial plans, other than how to pay down inflated December credit card bills.

For banks, it’s a good time to run a few simple messages:

  1. Thank customers for a great year
  2. Wish them happy holidays and/or a wonderful new year
  3. Help customers deal with holiday overspending and planning for the new year
  4. Provide last-minute gift assistance via prepaid MasterCard/Visa cards
  5. Detail holiday branch hours and service options (extra credit for an online/mobile banking plug)

This is not a tall order, yet only 9 of the 20 largest banks managed to do even 1 of the above 5 during the week leading up to Christmas. While that may not seem like a great performance, it was more than double the measly four last year. And it’s back in line with historical norms of 9 banks 2013; 8 in 2012; and 10 in 2011. It looks like 2014 was an anomaly.

Congrats to PNC Bank, which once again, proved it was the holiday champ thanks to its long-running 12 Days of Christmas Index, earning a full 5 bulbs on our 1-to-5 light bulb scale. Runner-up Key Bank moved up to an impressive 4-bulb performance with four holiday promos. And we had three 3-bulbers (Fifth Third, BMO Harris, Union Bank) who posted impressive holiday graphics.

The scrooge list: Top-20 banks with no holiday promotions or graphics on 23 Dec 2015:
Bank of America; Bank of the West (BNP Paribas); BB&T; Capital One & Capital One 360 (formerly ING Direct); Chase (note 2); Citizens (RBS); HSBC; SunTrust; US Bank; Wells Fargo; Zions Bank.

Following is a quick overview of the promotions, including a 1- to 5-bulb rating.

Previous year-end holiday posts: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 (big banks), 2011(CUs/community banks), 2009 part 1, 2009 part 2, 2007, 2006, 2006, 2004.

_____________________________________________________________________

Large U.S. banks show holiday spirit

PNC Bank

Score: imageimageimageimageimage

Homepage (23 Dec 2015):

pnc_holiday2015
PNC Christmas Price Index page:

pnc_holiday_2015_2

———–

Key Bank

  • Checking account promo with holiday imagery (1 of 3 rotating promos)
  • Security tips related to holiday spending (2 of 3 rotating promos)
  • Rewards promo with holiday image (lower left on homepage)
  • Credit card promo with holiday copy (lower right on homepage)

Score: imageimageimageimage

Homepage promo #1 (23 Dec 2015):

key_holiday2015
Homepage promo #2:

key_holiday2015_2

———-

Fifth Third Bank

  • Page-dominating “wishes”

Score: imageimageimage

Homepage (23 Dec 2015):

53_holiday2015

———-

BMO Harris

  • Community service announcing a Milwaukee holiday display (#2 of 3 rotating promos)
  • Security message related to holidays and its new chip card (#3 of 3 rotating promos)

Score: imageimageimage

Homepage promo #1 (23 Dec 2015):

bmoharris_holiday2015

Homepage promo #2:

bmoharris_holdiday2015_2

———

Union Bank

  • Rose Bowl parade float (#1 of 4 promos)
  • Billpay offer with charity tie-in (#2 of 4 promos)

Score: imageimageimage

Homepage promo #1 (23 Dec 2015):unionbank_holiday2015
Homepage promo #2:unionbank_holiday2015_2

———–

Comerica

  • Gift card promo integrated into main image (promo 2 of 3 rotating)

Score: imageimageimage (2.5)

Homepage (23 Dec 2015):

comerica_holiday2015

———-

Regions Bank

  • Loan discount with holiday copy (well below the fold)

Score: imageimage

Homepage with loan offer (23 Dec 2015):

regions_holiday_2015
Landing page for loan offer:

regions_holiday2015_2

——–

TD Bank

  • Checking account promo with holiday imagery and Samsung giveaway (main promo)

Score: imageimage

Homepage with checking promo (23 Dec 2015):

tdbank_holiday2015

———-

Citibank

  • Year-end home-equity promo with winter imagery

Score: image

citi_holiday_2015

 

————————-

Notes:
1. Observations taken between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wed, 23 Dec 2015, from a Florida IP address, running Mac Chrome browser with cookies cleared.
2. Chase is running a series of newish articles/posts below the fold, one of which covered holiday budgeting. But it wasn’t prominent enough to move them off the scrooge list.
3. Animation from
http://www.millan.net/anims/christmas.html#

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook