Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AcceptEmail, Arxan Technologies, Ayasdi, Coinbase, Comarch, DriveWealth, Fastacash, Feedzai, Fiserv, Gro Solutions, Heckyl Technologies, HelloWallet, Mitek, SocietyOne, Uncategorized, VISA, Xignite

On Finovate.com

  • “Xignite Surpasses 50 Billion API Calls in a Single Month”
  • “Feedzai Unveils its New Antifraud Solution, Data Science Studio”

Around the web

  • Comarch supports insurance sales and after-sales service by automating sales force at UNIQA Poland.
  • Let’s Talk Payments talks about Photo Verify with Sarah Clark, Mitek VP of product.
  • AcceptEmail and Kansys team up to provide email billing and payment options to telecoms via OCPay.
  • Fiserv and Early Warning partner to enable real-time bill pay and deposit services for U.S. FIs (financial institutions).
  • Corporate One partners with Gro Solutions to expand credit unions’ digital platforms.
  • Mitek launches mobile multicheck-capture for Commercial Mobile Deposit.
  • USAA and Coinbase partner to bring bitcoin to USAA members.
  • The Daily Telegraph features SocietyOne.
  • Euronext launches sentiment analysis partnership with Heckyl Technologies.
  • GEICO employees get access to HelloWallet, helping them manage their 401(k).
  • Visa Inc. to Acquire Visa Europe.
  • DriveWealth teams up with CQG, Direct FX to launch new, multi-asset trading platform.
  • FX Street calls Ayasdi “the next evolution in science.”
  • Arxan Technologies extends its app-security protection to Apple TV.
  • Mobile World Magazine looks at Fastacash and its new partnership with Xpress Money Services.

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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Fintech Fundings: 23 Companies Raise $120 Million Week Ending 30 Oct 2015

Fintech Fundings: 23 Companies Raise $120 Million Week Ending 30 Oct 2015
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

Money_pumpkinsWhile there were no blockbuster fundings last week, five companies pulled in eight figures each: Marqeta, $25 million; TruMid, $25 mil; Knip, $15.7 mil; iSignThis, $10.5 mil; and Zebit, $10 mil. In total, 23 fintech companies raised more than $121 million including Finovate alums Spreedly which brought in $2.5 million for its marketplace payments platform and iSignThis which raised $10.5 million in post-IPO equity for its identity-verification services.

Here are the fundings from 25 Oct to 31 Oct 2015 by size:

Marqeta
Open API issuer/payment processor platform
Latest round: $25 million Series C
Total raised: $45.5 million
HQ: Emeryville, California
Tags: APIs, developers, payments, debit cards, prepaid cards, mobile wallets, ACH
Source: Crunchbase

TruMid
Electronic trading marketplace for corporate bonds
Latest round: $25 million
Total raised: $25 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Trading, investing, bonds
Source: Crunchbase

Knip
Digital insurance manager
Latest round: $15.7 million Series B
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Zurich, Switzerland
Tags: Insurance, consumer, lead generation, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

iSignThis
Identity-proofing solutions
Latest round: $10.45 million Post-IPO equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Tags: Security, fraud, AML, KYC, compliance, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Zebit
Payment and credit platform for the underbanked
Latest round: $10 million
Total raised: $10 million
HQ: San Diego, California
Tags: Payments, underbanked, consumer, credit, sub-prime, ecommerce
Source: Crunchbase

RazorPay
Payments gateway
Latest round: $9 million Series A
Total raised: $11.6 million
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: Payments, merchants, SMB, acquiring
Source: Crunchbase

MoBeam
Mobile giftcard and coupon redemption
Latest round: $6.2 million Series B
Total raised: $28.5 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: Payments, loyalty, B2B2C, gift cards, merchants, marketing
Source: Crunchbase

Seed
Business banking platform
Latest round: $5 million
Total raised: $5.1 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, banking, financial management
Source: Crunchbase

Commerce Signals
Federated data-exchange platform
Latest round: $4 million Series A
Total raised: $4 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, privacy, data
Source: Crunchbase

Qvinci
Financial reporting software
Latest round: $3.4 million
Total raised: $3.4 million
HQ: Austin, Texas
Tags: Accounting, Intuit (partner), commercial lending, SMB
Source: Crunchbase

Spreedly
Payment software for marketplaces and platforms
Latest round: $2.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.7 million
HQ: Durham, North Carolina
Tags: Payments, API, developers, Finovate alum, FinDEVr alum
Source: Finovate

Paid
Accounts receivables management
Latest round: $1.4 million Seed
Total raised: $1.4 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Small biz, SMB, financial management, billing, invoicing, accounting, bookkeeping
Source: Crunchbase

Privacy
Virtual card numbers on the fly
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Payments, security, debit/credit cards, consumer
Source: Crunchbase

Splittable
Expense-splitting mobile application
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Expense management, PFM, payments, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Open Listings
Enabling home purchase without a real estate agent
Latest round: $1 million Seed
Total raised: $1 million
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Tags: Real estate, mortgage, home purchase, consumer, DIY, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Clipperz
Blockchain-based notary service
Latest round: $110,000
Total raised: $110,000
HQ: Bagnacavallo, Italy
Tags: Security, privacy, cryptocurrency, data
Source: Crunchbase

Clarus Financial Technology
Software for derivatives market
Latest round: $110,000
Total raised: $110,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Enterprise, investing
Source: FT Partners

Replay (no website)
Apple TV purchase and payment marketplace
Latest round: $25,000 Hackathon prize
Total raised: $25,000
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Tags: Payments, ecommerce, shopping, marketplace
Source: Finovate

Bit2Me
Blockchain-based remittance app
Latest round: $10,000 Prize
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Spain
Tags: Bitcoin, blockchain, remittances, payments, cryptocurrency, mobile
Source: Coindesk

Digital Currency Group
Cryptocurrency incubator and investor
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Cryptocurrency, blockchain, bitcoin, payments
Source: Crunchbase

GetSafe
Digital insurance manager
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Heidelberg, Germany
Tags: Insurance, personal finance, consumer, mobile
Source: FT Partners

Omise
Payment gateway
Latest round: Undisclosed Series B
Total raised: $2.9 million (prior to Series B)
HQ: Bangkok, Thailand
Tags: Payments, API, developers, merchants, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Tavaga
Mobile investment management
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Investing, advisers, social network, mobile, wealth management, mutual fund
Source: FT Partners

—–
Graphic licensed from 123rf

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Swiss Digital Banking Innovator CREALOGIX Raises CHF 25 Million

Swiss Digital Banking Innovator CREALOGIX Raises CHF 25 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CREALOGIX

CREALOGIX_homepage_Nov2015

Digital banking innovator CREALOGIX has raised 25 million Swiss francs ($25.4 million) in a convertible bond offering launched in late October and placed with institutional investors. The fundraising is the largest fintech investment of the year in Switzerland.

CREALOGIX CEO Bruno Richle said the”very oversubscribed” investment will help his company grow “not only in Switzerland, but also in Germany and Great Britain.” Richle added that the funds will help drive innovation in the company’s Digital Banking Hub.

CREALOGIX_stage_FEU2015

From left: Antony Bream, managing director, United Kingdom, and Roger Gatti, senior product manager demonstrated CREALOGIX’s BankClip at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

Proceeds from the convertible bond sale will also support CREALOGIX’s new stake in German fintech, ELAXY. ELAXY provides interactive advisory solutions for banks, and CREALOGIX has acquired 80% of ELAXY Financial Software and Solutions and 20% of ELAXY Business Solution and Services. Combined, the two businesses have annual sales of €10 million.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, CREALOGIX demonstrated its BankClip technology at FinovateEurope 2015 in London. The company announced its outlook for fiscal 2015-2016 last month, signaling net sales of “at least CHF 54 million” which would represent growth of more than 10%. The company unveiled the latest edition of its Digital Banking Portal this spring with new PFM and fund-brokerage features, and added biometric authentication via TouchID to its mobile banking solutions in February 2015.

If you’re a fintech fan in the United Kingdom or Europe, then make sure to mark 9/10 February 2016 on your calendar as FinovateEurope returns to London. Learn more about the first fintech event of 2016 at our FinovateEurope 2016 page.

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Money20/20 Hackathon: A H-API Ending

Money20/20 Hackathon: A H-API Ending
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr, MasterCard

M22Hackathon

Hackers returned to the Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas this week, bringing an army of 625 developers, designers, and entrepreneurs with it. All were competing for top prizes, and one team won the grand prize, a “h-API” ending.

First, a bit about the hackathon. Teams were given 24 hours to create a fintech solution that uses at least one API from their choice of 10 companies, 7 of which are Finovate or FinDEVr alums:

At the end of the 24 hours—after working all night on the challenge—165 teams had three minutes to pitch their projects to a group of judges from the 10 sponsors. The sponsors selected winning teams with solutions varying from a donation platform for homeless people, to PFM for children, to a virtual reality shopping platform.

The winning team—Replay*—used MasterCard’s API to enable purchases of items seen on screen while watching a program on Apple TV.

Here’s how it works. While watching Star Wars, for example, a button appears, indicating an item on screen, such as a light saber, is available for purchase. Clicking the button pauses the Star Wars program, and redirects the user to a marketplace screen to make their purchase.

Money2020Hackathon

As part of their prize, Replay won $20,000 and a demo-slot in front of the larger Money20/20 audience.

I tracked down the winners after their demo for a quick chat. Because it offered a quick payments experience, the Replay team chose to use the MasterCard API. The team said they found the MasterCard team helpful in building their technology, and they are eager to build out the product while looking for funding, and merchant partners, to further enhance it.

If you’re interested in seeing fintech APIs, check out our FinDEVr New York conference where developers, CTOs, and VPs of engineering will gather to view the next evolution of APIs in fintech.

———

*Replay does not yet have a website, but here is a link to the LinkedIn page of one of the founders, Messiah Jacobs.

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iSignthis Completes $10 Million Capital Raise

iSignthis Completes $10 Million Capital Raise
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: iSignthis

isignthis_homepage_Oct2015

iSignthis has successfully placed more than 26 million shares with institutional investors in a capital raise of $10.45 million.

“The funding will enable iSignthis to accelerate growth, and further leverage our market advantage as a superior product with only limited competition,” said John Karantzis, iSignthis marketing director. He says the funding will help the company expand marketing efforts, add to its sales team, and provide working capital for the company while it grows its sales pipeline.

Shares were priced at 40 cents. iSignthis trades on the Australian Stock Exchange under the ticker “ISX.”

isignthis_stage_FEU2015

Managing Director and CEO John Karantzis demonstrated iSignthis at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

Originally founded to help merchants fight card-not-present (CNP) fraud, iSignthis provides a cloud-based identity-verification and -authentication platform for payment service providers (PSPs), payment gateways, FIs, card issuers and acquirers, and more. The technology helps businesses meet KYC, AML, and other regulatory requirements, and is available to more than 3 billion customer accounts in 200-plus countries.

iSignthis has bookended 2015 with fundings, previously raising $3 million in January. The company announced a partnership with global workplace credential management firm, TikForce, in October. And in September, iSignthis teamed up with the largest digital currency processor in Europe, Coinify.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, iSignthis made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avoka, CREALOGIX, FIS, Fiserv, iSignthis, Top Image Systems, Trulioo

On Finovate.com

  • “Swiss Digital Banking Innovator CREALOGIX Raises CHF 25 Million”
  • “iSignthis Completes $10 Million Capital Raise”

Around the web

  • Landmark Bank to deploy core banking technology from FIS.
  • Avoka partners with Trulioo to provide digital identification authentication to international banks.
  • Telhio CU chooses Fiserv DNA account-processing platform.
  • Top Image Systems wins eFLOW5 contract upgrade with leading Pan-African financial services company.

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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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: BizEquity, Dwolla, Gro Solutions, Heckyl Technologies, mBank, Revolut, Ripple, TransferTo, vaamo, WS Integration

Around the web

  • mBank partners with PayU to bring mTransfer Mobile to Poland.
  • WS Integration awarded Little British Battler status by Techmarketview.
  • BizEquity named one of the ‘Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America’ by Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur 360 Awards.
  • Bluepoint Solutions partners with Gro Solutions for mobile account opening.
  • Germany-based vaamo now enables customers to open accounts online.
  • Irish Mirror features Revolut among 8 startups “you need to know about” at the Web Summit in Dublin.
  • Forbes takes a look at how Dwolla is bringing real-time payment technology to CME Group.
  • BNY Mellon’s Leda Glyptis lists Heckyl Technologies among her personal favorite startups.

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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Digital Asset Holdings Acquires Blockchain-as-a-Service Innovator, Blockstack.io

Digital Asset Holdings Acquires Blockchain-as-a-Service Innovator, Blockstack.io
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Blockstack.io

Blockstack_homepage_Oct2015

Best of Show winner Blockstack.io today announced an agreement to be acquired by Digital Asset Holdings. Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Miron Cuperman, Blockstack CTO, called Digital Asset “the best platform” to deliver Blockstack’s blockchain-application-development tools as part of a comprehensive solution for customers. Digital Asset Holdings’ CEO Blythe Masters praised both Blockstack’s technology as well as its talent, calling Cuperman “a renowned pioneer in the blockchain world.”

“(Cuperman) adds tremendous technical expertise to our development team,” Masters said.

Blockstack_stage_FF2015

From left: Blockstack CEO Peter Shiau and CPO Lior Saar demonstrated Blockstack.io at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.

Blockstack provides financial institutions with a hosted platform to build blockchain-based applications using APIs and SDKs. Currently available in beta, Blockstack’s platform combines open source and proprietary technologies in a private blockchain for known participants to develop apps.

As part of the acquisition, Digital Asset Holdings and Blockstack will integrate their product offerings, giving clients a seamless integration experience. Peter Shiau, Blockstack CEO, added that Digital Asset Holding’s approach to technology is “very complementary” and that the leadership of the combined entity will have the necessary resources to scale the platform.

Founded in May 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, Blockstack made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2015 in New York, and its FinDEVr debut at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AlphaClone, AlphaPoint, Arxan Technologies, Blockstack, Blockstack.io, BrightScope, CurrencyFair, EyeVerify, Fastacash, IDology, Mint

On Finovate.com

  • “Digital Asset Holdings Acquires Blockchain-as-a-Service Innovator, Blockstack.io“

Around the web

  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews John Dancu, IDology CEO.
  • AlphaPoint unveils StreamCore to help banks take advantage of blockchain data.
  • Fastacash partners with Xpress Money to launch XOPO, enabling cross-border money-transfers via social networks and messaging channels.
  • Security solutions from Arxan Technologies now running on more than 500 million devices.
  • RIA Biz highlights MaxMyInterest in feature on the NAPFA Fall Conference.
  • ETFdb interviews CEO Maz Jadallah of AlphaClone.
  • Martin Beaulieu, former BlackRock managing director, joins BrightScope as adviser.
  • CurrencyFair expansion to bring 50 new jobs to Dublin, Ireland, over the next year.
  • Porch.com acquires Fountain, a startup launched by Mint founder, Aaron Patzer.
  • Chinese smartphone maker Nubia unveils phone with EyeVerify authentication technology.

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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Presentation Videos from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 Are Now Available

Presentation Videos from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 Are Now Available
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinDEVr 2015

FinDEVr2015_stage_1

Just when you thought you might be stuck watching the GOP presidential debates tonight, we’re happy to announce that the presentation videos from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 are now ready for viewing.

All 63 videos are available for free watching, downloading, and sharing in our Video Archive. To view videos only from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015, filter the search for “FinDEVr” and “2015.”

FinDEVr2015_videos_filter

So tonight you can send The Donald, Dr. Carson, and the rest of the bunch to the TiVo, and instead settle in for an evening of presentations from some of the most innovative developers, CTOs, and software engineers in fintech.

Remember that FinDEVr will make its New York debut next spring. FinDEVr New York 2016 is scheduled for 29/30 March, at New World Stages in Manhattan. Register by this Friday and take advantage of Launch Ticket savings.

And if you are interested in presenting at FinDEVr 2016 New York, we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at newyork@findevr.com for more information.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Dwolla, FIS, Markit, Nomis Solutions

On Finovate.com

  • “Presentation Videos from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 Are Now Available“

Around the web

  • Markit launches its WSO Credit Manager, a credit and portfolio analysis solution.
  • Dwolla teams up with CME Group to bring on-demand payments to the clearing and settlement process.
  • FIS and The Clearing House partner to build a ubiquitous, real-time payment system.
  • Nomis Solutions and Zafin announce strategic partnership to provide integrated and seamless deposit pricing solution for retail banks.

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

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Bank to the Future

Bank to the Future
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

backtothefuture_DayI just returned from 10 enjoyable days with family and friends in three U.S. cities (1). I’m still amazed at how the smartphone has made traveling so much easier. Text messaging (especially with speech-to-text), Google maps, Yelp, Uber, Expedia, Alaska Airlines, Siri and more. If only the battery would hold out all day, it would be nearly perfect.

But one area that still lags is personal finance. Sure, you can get your bank balance or transfer cash on your phone 24/7, but I could do that in 1985 through an 800-number. Where’s the Back to the Future stuff?

It will be here sooner than you think.

Had the worldwide financial system not teetered on the brink less than seven years ago, we’d have all kinds of financial hover boards and self-lacing shoes. But there were a few other projects that had priority, like righting the ship.

But with that mostly behind us, we should see real progress in the next few years. Here are five Bank to the Future predictions for 2020 (or sooner). The basic technology for each is already available and has been on stage at Finovate and/or FinDEVr:

  1. Financial travel guard: Automatically alerts card issuers and banks to your exact location, which is fed into authorization algorithms to ensure approvals wherever you go. And tokenization masks your card numbers from dishonest or careless shopkeepers.
  2. Annotated spending storybook: Sure, you can look back at your pictures from four years ago to help remember the name of that ice cream shop you visited. But with spending location, annotations (including your photos or receipts) and extensions (such as Yelp integration), your “story” as told through transactions is readily accessible in a searchable database accessed with a few keystrokes or voice commands. Of course, there’s a map view, too.
  3. Family integration: Adding family members to your account should be like connecting on social media, not going through an FBI background check. We’ll need some support from the regulators, but we’ll get there eventually. And once connected, it should be easy to share funds, co-sign loans, manage savings and get everyone’s finances in sync like Dropbox, Evernote or iCloud (although that last one perhaps shouldn’t be the model).
  4. No. More. Passwords: Username/password authentication is a pesky holdover from the 1980s. Biometrics and device identification will rule very soon.
  5. Real-time insurance: Granted, this will take longer than five years, but the future will have on-demand insurance. Like calling on Uber, if you decide you want a little extra protection for your car, for your business, for the guests at your party, you just select the right button, turn the dial, and order it up. Pricing will be transparent and real-time. There may be “surge fare” premiums, but that’s part of the on-demand model.

Check back with me in 21 Oct 2020, and we’ll see if I did as well as the movie.

——-
(1) Which explains why my Back to the Future-themed post is running a week after the official 21 Oct date.

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