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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 12, 2015
Categories: Algomi, BBVA, BioCatch, Credit Karma, DarcMatter, Encap, Entersekt, Hyperwallet, Insuritas, MasterCard, Matchi, WorldPay

On Finovate.com

“Finovate Debuts: DarcMatter Shines a Light On Alternative Investments”

“BBVA’s Wallet App Tops One Million Downloads; Goes Live in Turkey This Week”

Around the web

Credit Karma introduces direct-dispute feature.

Magnify CU partners with Insuritas to launch an insurance agency.

Worldpay employees evaluate use of finger-vein technology to authenticate payments at the POS without need for a card.

mydesq selects Encap Security to boost productivity and engagement for wealth managers.

Let’s Talk Payments interviews Brent Warrington, Hyperwallet CEO.

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.

Algomi’s Honeycomb named “Product of the Year” and “Best Buy-Side Newcomer” in Waters Technology’s Buy-Side Technology Awards.

The Next Web profiles BioCatch, a biometric security specialist.

FusionWire looks at ways that banks can use Matchi to build relationships with fintech startups.

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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Mobile UI: US Bank Tackles New Navigation Conventions

By Jim Bruene Posted on November 11, 2015
Categories: Design, Mobile Banking, US Bank, UX

As I was taking a tour of US Bank’s gorgeous new mobile app (above), I was reminded of an ongoing problem in mobile UI, lack of navigational consistency. For anyone over 30, you’ve seen this play out before. It took nearly a decade (1995 to early 2000’s) for websites, especially in financial services, to conform to pretty straightforward navigation conventions (tabs on top, login in upper right, etc.).

While responsive design—one website for desktop and mobile—has made things a little less standardized, desktop browser navigation is still pretty easy to figure out. And there’s always the back button to get you out of a jam.

Not so on smartphones. First-generation mobile banking UIs generally used the bottom of the screen to showcase 3 or 4 navigational choices, often with a More button to expand the choices. This worked OK since early apps usually had limited functions.

But as banks redesign their apps to a more modern esthetic, the bottom navigation bar is disappearing. That looks great, but how do users find key functions?

That brings me back to US Bank’s new app. When I finished admiring its newly sleek design, I was momentarily thrown for a loop on how to get out of the main page. The familiar buttons at the bottom were gone (see older screenshot right). And initially I didn’t see the “hamburger menu” in the upper left corner—a stacked column of three bars (upper left), or a stack of small dots (following line items)—which have recently become fairly common design conventions.

So it turns out that US Bank has located navigation options in two spots, neither particularly easy to see on a phone.

(1) The hamburger menu is there in the upper left, but it’s small and looks like it’s part of the logo (see screenshot at left and closeup at right)
(2) The smaller context-sensitive menus are positioned directly to the right of each account. Deposit accounts have three navigation choices (Pay/Send, Transfer Money, Deposit)

Bottom line: US Bank has delivered what may well be the best looking big-bank mobile app yet, at least in the United States. It is also packed with new features such as no-login balance inquiry and customizations. So kudos to the team at US Bank, which also led the pack on desktop UI more than a decade ago!

That said, the almost-hidden primary navigation is a case of the design getting slightly ahead of its users. While users may soon get used to the new nav links, I recommend a few adjustments in the meantime:

Add navigation instructions to the “feature tour” when users open the app for the first time.
Make the hamburger menu stand on its own by increasing its size and placing it away from the US Bank logo (below the logo, or in the upper right which is wide open).
Consider adding the word “menu” below it for a few months, at least until users get the hang of it.

——–

Update 16 Nov 2015: Digital design guru Jakob Nielsen just published an overview of mobile navigation echoing our concerns with the hamburger menus.

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Make Mine Meniga: Santander Selects a PFM Partner

By David Penn Posted on November 11, 2015
Categories: Meniga

Santander is partnering with Meniga to bring the Iceland-based fintech innovator’s “world class” PFM solutions to its clients and customers. Jose Maria Fuster, head of global innovation at Grupo Santander, called the agreement “the first step in a long-term strategic partnership” and “an important milestone in our journey towards truly personalized digital banking.”

Meniga co-founder and CEO Georg Ludviksson said, “Meniga’s mission is to help banks innovate and transform their online and mobile offerings into a highly personal virtual finance adviser that helps people manage all aspects of their money and become smarter consumers.”

From left: Meniga co-founder and CEO Georg Ludviksson and VP of product management Einar Gustafsson demonstratied Meniga Market Match at FinovateEurope 2015.

Meniga’s announcement comes just days after being recognized by Business Insider as one of the most promising fintech startups in the Nordics. In October, Meniga launched an updated version of its Moverang app, Moverang Evolution, in Spain, and won “Best Technical Solution” in the business and commerce category at the United Nation’s World Summit Award.

With more than €1.5 trillion in managed funds, Santander is one of the top 12 banks in the world. The Spain-based institution has nearly 13,000 branches and more than 190,000 employees.

Founded in March 2009 and headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, Meniga demonstrated its Market Match solution at FinovateEurope 2015, taking home best of show honors. The company has raised more than $8 million in funding, and its solutions reach more than 25 million online banking customers in 16 markets around the world.

If you are a fintech fan in Europe, then be sure to put our February conference on your calendar. FinovateEurope returns to London on 9/10 February 2016. Visit our FinovateEurope 2016 page for more information.

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 11, 2015
Categories: Authy, BehavioSec, Entersekt, Fidor Bank, FinDEVr, FinDEVr APIntelligence, Markit, MX, Nexmo, PayPal, Thomson Reuters, Trulioo, Xero, Yodlee

Are 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

Harvard Business Review: The Changing Economics of App Development.

The latest from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presenters

Aberdeen Asset Management selects Markit to value hard-to-price assets for positions with limited market data.

Developer reviews Authy’s two-factor authentication.

Nexmo launches Verify SDK.

PayPal among the companies highlighted in Inc.’s look back at Money20/20.

Thomson Reuters unveils its new desktop platform, grouping all of its FX transaction venues into one single point of access.

Business Insider lists BehavioSec and Fidor as “companies we wish were big the U.S.”

Silicon Slopes Podcast hosts Ryan Caldwell, MX CEO, as he discusses how to improve online banking.

SecureAuth and BehavioSec form partnership.

Thomson Reuters unveils latest version of its tax-technology platform, Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE.

Yodlee’s Ynext unveils new incubator class.

Business Insider names BehavioSec among the 12 hottest Nordic fintech startups.

Alumni updates

“Trulioo Selected as Runner-up for Startup Canada Award for Innovation”

Xero reaches 600,000 subscribers in 180 countries.

VentureBurn features Entersekt CEO Schalk Nolte.

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

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on November 11, 2015
Categories: Actiance, Authy, Cachet Financial Solutions, Coinbase, D3 Banking, Dealflow, Kantox, Markit, Meniga, Motif Investing, Nexmo, Nutmeg, TIO Networks, Zighra

On Finovate.com

“Make Mine Meniga: Santander Selects a PFM Partner”

Around the web

First Tennessee Bank licenses digital banking platform from D3 Banking.

Nutmeg goes live with new back office courtesy of Babel Systems.

Canadian Innovation Exchange names TIO Networks as one of Canada’s 20 hottest and most innovative public tech companies.

Actiance releases expanded supervisory review capabilities for Alcatraz, its cloud-based archive for a broad range of communication channels.

Coinbase launches bitcoin price charts, international translations, and consolidated accounts.

Dealflow to launch Dealflow 2.0 in webinar next week.

Aberdeen Asset Management selects Markit to value hard-to-price assets for positions with limited market-data.

Developer reviews Authy’s two-factor authentication.

Nexmo launches Verify SDK.

Motif teams up with U.S. Bank’s Ascent Private Capital Management to offer new digital tools to Ascent’s advisers.
Kantox partners with NoviCap to offer customers a stronger financial service.

Central Bank of Kansas City to issue Cachet’s prepaid cards.

WSJ features Zighra.

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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Yodlee’s Ynext Unveils New Incubator Class

By David Penn Posted on November 10, 2015
Categories: DRAFT, Fidor Bank, Hedgeable, Roostify, Yodlee

Ynext, the incubator program from Yodlee, announced its latest class. Featured among the eight startups is FinovateFall 2015 alum Hedgeable, the first private bank for millennials.

General manager of Ynext and chief strategy and development officer for Yodlee, Joe Polverari said his team was “blown away by the quality and diversity” of this year’s cohort, and that being involved with “such an impressive group of entrepreneurs so focused on innovation is what we love.”

Along with Hedgeable, the upcoming class includes:

As participants in the incubator, the startups will get 12 months’ access to Yodlee’s platform, a development team to help with API integration, mentorships from industry professionals, and activities in boot camps in the Silicon Valley area. Directing the class will be former Rutberg & Company vice president, Jeff Cain. Mohr Davidow Ventures, Canvas Venture Fund, Zendesk, RBS, Canaan Partners, Purch, and 1185 Design will provide mentors for the program.

Ynext is no stranger to Finovate alums. A trio of alums—Fidor US, DRAFT and Roostify—graduated from Ynext’s incubator class in May. Since then, Fidor has expanded to the U.K.; DRAFT made the finals of the BBVA Open Talent Competition; and Roostify raised more than $7 million in Series A funding and joined Wells Fargo’s accelerator.

Hedgeable was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York. Co-founders Michael Kane and Matthew Kane demoed NEXT, their wealth-management platform, at FinovateFall 2015.

Yodlee was acquired by Envestnet for more than $660 million, less than a year after going public. Based out of Redwood City, California, and founded in 1999, Yodlee is an alum of both Finovate and FinDEVr. Anil Arora is CEO.

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Narrative Science Introduces Anti-money Laundering Solution, Quill for AML

By David Penn Posted on November 10, 2015
Categories: Narrative Science

In launching Quill for AML today, Narrative Science leveraged its advanced natural language technology to bring new anti-money laundering technologies to the enterprise.

Quill for AML automates regulatory and compliance reporting and documentation typically done by hand. The solution allows businesses to produce SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) narratives and other reports that are consistent and traceable. And the automation speeds up the process, making filing deadlines easier to meet.

From left: Tim Bixler, Credit Suisse managing director, global head of HOLT, and Kris Hammond, CTO of Narrative Science, demonstrated Quill Financial at FinovateFall 2013.

Stuart Frankel, CEO of Narrative Science, said Quill for AML helps compliance teams avoid wasting time on false positives and “superfluous and unproductive alerts.”

“Organizations that wish to remain competitive and compliant should look to Quill for AML to augment reporting processes so analysts’ time is freed up to add value in other ways,” Frankel said.

Julie Conroy, research director for Aite Group’s retail banking practice, seconded this point and praised Quill for AML’s ability to produce “consistent and accurate” SAR narratives at scale. “Even if they have budget to hire, it’s increasingly difficult to find good AML analysts able to work mounting alerts,” she said.

Quill for AML is the latest deployment of the company’s Quill technology. The company launched its enhanced Quill Engage for Google Analytics solution in September, and unveiled its Quill Portfolio Review technology in June. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Chicago, Narrative Science demonstrated Quill Financial at FinovateFall 2013 in New York.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 10, 2015
Categories: BehavioSec, Currency Cloud, eToro, Fiserv, Hedgeable, Klarna, Meniga, MX, Narrative Science, SayPay, ShopKeep POS, Sliced Investing, Thomson Reuters, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

“Finovate Debuts: Sliced Investing Provides Advisers with Access to Alternative Investments”

“Narrative Science Introduces Anti-money Laundering Solution, Quill for AML“

“Yodlee’s Ynext Unveils New Incubator Class”

Around the web

TechInAsia features SayPay.

Thomson Reuters unveils latest version of its tax technology platform, Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE.

Re/code looks at ShopKeep POS’s growth and newly hired COO, Michael DeSimone.

Currency Cloud partners with API-driven Fidor Bank to provide new SEPA Direct Debit functionality.

Hedgeable to take part in Yodlee’s Ynext Launchpad.

Business Insider lists eToro, BehavioSec, Klarna, and Fidor, as “companies we wish were big the U.S.”

Silicon Slopes Podcast hosts Ryan Caldwell, MX CEO, as he discusses how to improve online banking.

RTN Federal Credit Union re-ups with Fiserv’s XP2 account-processing platform.

Meniga to power Santander’s PFM.

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

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Finovate Debuts: Sliced Investing Provides Advisers with Access to Alternative Investments

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 9, 2015
Categories: Finovate Debuts, Sliced Investing

In the past few years there has been much disruption in the wealth management space especially with the influx of robo-advisers. Sliced Investing takes a different approach, offering registered investment advisors access to alternative investments.

Company facts:

Launched 2014
$20+ million invested through the platform
Headquartered in San Francisco
8 employees

At FinovateFall 2015, Sliced debuted its offering for institutional investors. Sliced not only enables investors to deploy strategies in minutes, but also offers access to hedge funds and private equity funds with $10,000 minimums. These capabilities enable advisers to diversify clients’ portfolios by adding alternative investments.

How it works

Browse

Browse and filter alternative investments to find those that suit client preferences.

View performance

Review and compare fund performances. Sliced offers institutional-quality analytics and risk management tools.

Deploy

Once an adviser finds a suitable strategy, they deploy it in minutes by sending their client an agreement and digital paperwork directly from within the Sliced platform.

Client overview

Advisers see an overview of all investment activity and have access to client documents.

The Sliced platform can be white-labeled for family offices, brokers, pension funds and endowments.

What’s next?
Sliced is working on a robo-adviser for alternative investments and a set of algorithms to help advisers compete against robo-advisers. The company is also building tools to offer a single sign-on to eliminate password confusion.

Co-founders of Sliced Investing, CTO Akhil Lodha and CEO Mike Furlong, debuted Sliced Institutional at FinovateFall 2015:

http://finovate.wistia.com/medias/lkvw07jlkl?embedType=api&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=800

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Dream Payments Launches EMV MPOS System in Canada

By David Penn Posted on November 9, 2015
Categories: Dream Payments

Are you a small business dreaming about an off-the-shelf EMV mobile point-of-sale solution that accepts everything from Interac debit to chip-and-PIN cards to contactless payments?

Well, if you are a Canadian small business, you’re in luck: Dream Payments has teamed up with TELUS to bring EMV-ready mPOS technology to retail merchants in Canada.

Dream Payments CEO Brent Ho-Young noted both cost and quality in talking about his company’s technology compared to the status quo. “For far too long, small businesses in Canada have been forced to choose between insecure magstripe card readers or purchase expensive EMV payment terminals with monthly fees,” Ho-Young said. “That stops today.”

From left: Dream Payments Chief Operating Officer Anant Tailor and VP of Business Development Christian Ali demonstrated Dream mPOS at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose, California.

The solution, Dream Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS), consists of an mPOS app for Android and iOS devices, along with a Bluetooth-enabled EMV credit and debit reader powered by the Dream Payments Cloud. The solution allows merchants to accept payments and issue receipts, as well as manage product catalogues and monitor sales in real time. Dream mPOS also comes with an online dashboard where business owners can create reports, study analytics, and more, right from their smartphones.

The card reader is available through TELUS for $100. Interac debit-card transactions have a processing fee of $0.25; Visa and MasterCard credit transactions have a fee of 2.75%.

Founded in June 2014 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dream Payments previewed its Dream Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) solution at its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2015. The company has total capital of $6 million courtesy of a fundraising in March.

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Roostify Garners $500,000 in Funding from Wells Fargo Accelerator

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on November 9, 2015
Categories: Funding, Roostify

Mortgage loan technology startup, Roostify, landed $500,000 in funding last week.

The San Francisco-based company received the funds as a part of its participation in Wells Fargo’s startup accelerator program, a semiannual bootcamp for fintech companies. The year-old accelerator has hosted Finovate alums EyeVerify and Zumigo, which graduated in the spring of 2014.

The $500,000 installment adds to Roostify’s series A round received mid-month October from USAA, Colchis Capital Management, and two tier 1 banks. Since the amount of the series A was undisclosed, Roostify’s total funding is unknown.

Roostify debuted at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose.

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Fintech Fundings: 20 Companies Raise $175 Million Week Ending 6 Nov 2015

By Jim Bruene Posted on November 9, 2015
Categories: Uncategorized

Last week, 20 companies raised $175 million, including $25 million in debt. It was the sixth week in a row that the number of fintech fundings topped 20. And the dollar total has hit 9-figures ($100 mil) or more 12 weeks in a row now. Both of the streaks will likely stop during the holidays, but so far the sector has defied gravity for the past 12 to 18 months, so even December could surprise.

Chinese P2P lender Meili Jinrong led the pack with a massive $65 million A round. But the most surprising funding was the $42 million to the Atlanta-based alternative credit bureau, FactorTrust. Two Finovate alums added capital: Roostify which picked up $500,000 from Wells Fargo’s startup accelerator to further its mission to streamline the mortgage process for consumers and Figo, a German-based firm, which banked “7 figures” to expand its suite of banking APIs.

This week’s funding puts the 2015 year-to-date total to $16.0 billion, or $22 billion if you add the two October IPOs.

Here are the rounds by size from 31 Oct through 6 Nov 2015:

Meili Jinrong
P2P lending
Latest round: $65 million Series A
Total raised: $65 million
HQ: China
Tags: Consumer, lending, loans, peer-to-peer, investing
Source: FT Partners

FactorTrust
Alternative credit bureau
Latest round: $42 million
Total raised: $42 million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: Enterprise, underwriting, lending, risk management
Source: Crunchbase

Expansion Capital Group
Small business alt-lender
Latest round: $25 million Debt
Total raised: $37.1 million (includes $35 million debt)
HQ: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Tags: SMB, financing, credit, loans, commercial lending
Source: Crunchbase

Invoice2Go
Invoicing solution
Latest round: $15 million Series C
Total raised: $50 million
HQ: Redwood City, California
Tags: SMB, invoicing, accounts receivables, billing, accounting
Source: Crunchbase

Mercatus
Energy-project financing
Latest round: $6.7 million
Total raised: $10.4 million
HQ: San Jose, California
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, investing
Source: Crunchbase

inov8
Mobile payments technology
Latest round: $5.4 million
Total raised: $5.4 million
HQ: Lahore, Pakistan
Tags: Consumer, mobile, payments
Source: FT Partners

POKKT
Rewards and alt-currency platform
Latest round: $5 million Series B
Total raised: $7.5 million
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, payments, rewards, gaming
Source: Crunchbase

Compeon
Finance portal for small businesses
Latest round: $2.74 million
Total raised: $2.74 million
HQ: Emsdetten, Germany
Tags: SMB, lead gen, financing, commercial lending, price comparison
Source: Crunchbase

Eagle Alpha
Alternative data platform for asset managers
Latest round: $1.8 million Seed
Total raised: $6.3 million
HQ: Dublin, Ireland
Tags: Advisers, trading, investing, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

Ingage
Investor relations platform
Latest round: $1.7 million
Total raised: $4.6 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Enterprise, investing, compliance, information management
Source: FT Partners

BTL Group
Blockchain technology
Latest round: $1.5 million
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tags: Blockchain, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, enterprise
Source: FT Partners

Change Labs
Personal finance tracking
Latest round: $800,000
Total raised: $800,000
HQ: Caesarea, Israel
Tags: Consumer, PFM, financial management, messaging, savings
Source: Crunchbase

Roostify
Home buying application
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, Wells Fargo (investor), Finovate alum
Source: FT Partners

Call Levels
Financial markets monitoring and notifications
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Singapore
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, securities
Source: Crunchbase

TawiPay
International remittances price-comparison site
Latest round: $400,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Lausanne, Switzerland
Tags: Consumer, payments, remittances, lead gen, price comparison
Source: Crunchbase

ZapChain
Bitcoin trading community
Latest round: $350,000
Total raised: $350,000
Tags: Consumer, investing, trader, cryptocurrency, social network
Source: Crunchbase

Loanbaba.com
Consumer loan marketplace
Latest round: $320,000 Seed
Total raised: $320,000
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, lead gen, loans, small business loans, mortgage
Source: Crunchbase

Wirex Limited
Bitcoin debit card (e-coin)
Latest round: $187,000 Crowdfunding
Total raised: $187,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, debit card, payments, cryptocurrency
Source: Crunchbase

Figo (formerly known as LeanBanking)
Banking APIs
Latest round: “7 figures” (exact amount undisclosed)
Total raised (previously): $780,000
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Tags: Consumer, API, developers, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Scout Finance
Next-generation financial research
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: $1.7 million (prior to latest round)
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, investing, information, trading
Source: Crunchbase

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