FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Backbase

A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on September 8 & 9, 2016. Register today.

Backbase is on a mission to empower financial institutions to accelerate their digital transformation and effectively compete in a digital-first world.

Backbase offers "the best practice for fast, simple, seamless, omnichannel onboarding using the latest modern mobile technology for simplified Know Your Customer and seamless data-gathering technologies."

Why it's great
Backbase reveals a true omnichannel onboarding process across mobile, desktop, and tablet.

Presenters

Jouk Pleiter, CEO, Co-founder
Pleiter is CEO and co-founder of Backbase. He formerly served as president and co-founder of Tridion, one of the world's leading WCM software vendors.
LinkedIn

Tim Rutten, Pre-Sales Engineer
Rutten is the pre-sales engineer at Backbase, a software company founded in 2003 that delivers omnichannel banking solutions for financial institutions across the world.
LinkedIn

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FinovateFall Sneak Peek: SpeechPro

A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on September 8 & 9, 2016. Register today.

SpeechPro and Acuant announce Welcome Onboarding, a new customer signup solution that combines document scanning and biometrics in a single session for whole touchpoint lifecycle management.

Welcome Onboarding features;

Document scanning extracts customer data, shortens session Liveness detection and tampering detection provide security Multichannel biometric enrollment provides full lifecycle 2FA

Why it's great
One app simplifies new customer onboarding and provides password-free, biometric-secured access for multiple channels, including mobile devices, the web, IVRs, and contact center agent conversations.

Presenter

Phil Shinn, CTO
Shinn holds a doctorate in linguistics from Brown, five patents, and served on the board of directors of the Applied Voice Input Output Society and the Association of Voice Interaction Designers.
LinkedIn

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Kantox Marks $100 Million Processed Since Launching API in Beta

Currency exchange Kantox launched its API 6 months ago and has since shown early success, announcing that it has processed $100 million.

According to the company's press release, thousands of transactions have been processed through the API in the 6 months since its beta launch. Philippe Gelis, CEO and co-founder of Kantox, told Finextra, “The huge uptake in our API during the beta launch indicates that Kantox is delivering genuine added value by offering finance departments headache-free automation of currency management and execution of customized FX rate-hedging strategies.”

This week the company released the API to 2,000 enterprise customers. It can be integrated with their in-house systems in just a few days. After the integration, clients can access Kantox's services including:

Spot trades Forwards Market orders International payments Dynamic Hedging   Payments Hub

The company's API helps businesses manage frequent FX exposure by connecting directly to their ERP or treasury management system to…

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Blockstream Acquires Bitcoin Wallet Solution GreenAddress

Terms have not been disclosed, but today we learned that Blockstream has agreed to acquire bitcoin wallet software maker and FinDEVr alum, GreenAddress.

Adam Back, Blockstream president, called GreenAddress a company with a "demonstrated track record of delivering an industry-leading product that prioritizes security, privacy, and convenience." Back said the acquisition was key to Blockstream's goal of building out its sidechain technology roadmap. "The addition of an open source, well-tested production quality wallet was a natural choice," Back said. "It increases the reach of our platform and allows us to meet the requirements of our enterprise applications."

GreenAddress founder and CEO Lawrence Nahum during his presentation, "GreenAddress: Instant and Secure Bitcoin" at FinDEVr 2014 in San Francisco.

Writing at the GreenAddress blog, company founder and CEO Lawrence Nahum thanked those who have been using GreenAddress's bitcoin wallet and ensured that GreenAddress wallets will continue to work ("Your funds…

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

Kantox Marks $100 Million Processed Since Launching API in Beta France's Groupe BPCE Acquires Munich-based Fidor Bank Check out our latest set of FinovateFall Sneak Peeks: Tango Card Personetics Backbase SpeechPro

On FinDEVr.com

GreenAddress Acquired by Blockstream

Around the web

American Banker features Hedgeable. Check Point Launches Australia and New Zealand Technical Assistance Centre and Incident Response Services. Kyte Consultants partners with Featurespace. USE Federal Credit Union selects Kasasa. Blackhawk Network Launches eCommerce Website for Gift Cards in Canada. Venmo named a Breakthrough Brand on Interbrand's 2016 report. Betterment for Business Surpasses 200 Plan Sponsors. Payment Data Systems launches iOS payment processing SDK.

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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Quantopian Receives Undisclosed Amount from Steve Cohen’s Point72

Browser-based algorithmic trading platform Quantopian today received a boost from Point72, Steve Cohen's asset management company. The company's venture arm invested an undisclosed amount in the Boston-based company, adding to Quantopian's $23.8 million in funding and marking one of the first investments for Point72 Ventures.

This news comes after last month's announcement that Quantopian's hedge fund is open to outside investors. Cohen, traditionally a fundamentals-based trader (not a quant), is leveraging this newly launched capability by investing up to $250 million in a portfolio of Quantopian-managed algorithms.

This is good news for Quantopian's users who build and license their algorithms through the company's website. Its 85,000 users in 180 countries have created 400,000+ algorithms, 10 of which the company has selected to use for trading purposes.

As Quantopian reports in a blog post, "With these new funds to manage we will be able to make larger allocations to more algorithms selected from our community. Licensed algorithm…

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From the Tech Side: Interview with Checkbook.io CTO PJ Gupta

Ever wonder what's on the other side of some of the fintech we showcase on the Finovate blog? That's the entire premise of our FinDEVr conference series. To get an idea of what I'm talking about, check out this interview from PJ Gupta, CTO and founder of Checkbook.io.

We recently interviewed Gupta, who founded Checkbook.io in 2014, about the company's digital check platform. You can try out a digital check at checkbook.io/?type=finovate

Finovate: Where did you start your career and how did you gain experience needed to found Checkbook?

PJ: My most recent corporate role was Chief Network Architect at VISA, where I was responsible for the VISA USA commercial and corporate network. From the outside, the VISA network works seamlessly; however, on the inside, the payments ecosystem is very inefficient, both from a business as well as technology perspective. Things move slowly at large established bureaucracies—while fundamental changes…

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FinDEVr APIntelligence

Our FinDEVr New York developer showcase was a success! FinDEVr Silicon Valley will be held October 18 & 19 in Santa Clara. Register today and save.

On FinDEVr.com

Venmo Enables Payments in Merchant Apps Prevoty Wins 2016 Stratus Award for Best Small Company Cloud Security Service Mexico’s Grupo Bursátil Deploys Messaging Tech from Solace Systems

The latest from FinDEVr New York 2016 presenters

A look at fintech in Berlin and London highlights Mambu. Quick and Dirty Details of the PayPal–Visa Partnership. Espresso Capital features Outside IQ’s creativity in raising capital.

Alumni updates

Kontomatik introduces Financial Health Indicator for smal-l and medium-sized lenders. Kabbage turns to Marketo for new marketing solutions. ITProPortal interviews Ben Robinson, chief strategy and marketing officer for Temenos. Mastercard to Buy VocaLink for Up to $1.14 Billion After Masterpass Expansion to Retail Cloud Lending Solutions adds new online modules to its Learning program. …

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Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

From the Tech Side: Interview with Checkbook.io CTO PJ Gupta Quantopian Receives Undisclosed Amount from Steve Cohen’s Point72

On FinDEVr.com

Venmo Enables Payments in Merchant Apps

Around the web

Coinbase launches in Australia. Kontomatik introduces Financial Health Indicator for small- and medium-sized lenders. Venmo's in-app payments technology emerges from beta. Kantox processed $100 million in transactions in the six months since the debut of its API. Kony launches MobileFabric, which features a model-driven approach to mobile app development using microservices. American Banker's Association features results from banks using Fiserv, Buzz Points and Larky for customer loyalty and rewards. Ledger now shipping Nano S.

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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FinovateFall Sneak Peek: AutoGravity

A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on September 8 & 9. Register today.

AutoGravity harnesses the power of the smartphone to give you direct control over how you finance your next car, empowering you with multiple financing offers in the palm of your hand.

AutoGravity:

Empowers car shoppers with multiple, personalized financing offers in minutes Connects consumers directly with top lenders and dealerships Offers industry-leading security and encryption standards

Why it's great
With over a $1 trillion USD in loans outstanding, the auto financing industry yields an unparalleled opportunity for digital innovation. AutoGravity is uniquely positioned to realize this opportunity!

Presenters

Serge Vartanov, Chief Marketing Officer
Vartanov leads the marketing, product, and design teams at AutoGravity to revolutionize financing and accelerate growth. A former consultant, he holds an MBA from Harvard and bachelors from U.C. Berkeley.
LinkedIn

Martin Prescher, Chief Technology Officer
Prescher leads the engineering team…

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FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Trulioo

A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on September 8 & 9. Register today.

Trulioo's unique approach to identity verification leverages traditional and alternative data to verify customers around the globe, helping clients meet AML/KYC requirements and reduce risk and fraud.

Features:

4 billion people, 50+ countries, 200+ data sources, 1 API Custom rules settings to meet cross-border compliance obligations Verification results displayed with full transparency per ID input

Why it's great
The dynamic regulatory landscape introduces compliance challenges, which is why Trulioo built a solution from the ground up to address AML/KYC, allowing clients to set custom rules per jurisdiction.

Presenter: Anatoly Kvitnitsky, Director of Corporate Development
With solid startup and corporate experience, Kvitnitsky (shown at right) leads strategic partnerships and data acquisition for Trulioo.
LinkedIn

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FinovateFall Sneak Peek: ebankIT

A look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals on September 8 & 9. Register today.

ebankIT is an omnichannel banking software company providing innovative technologies that allow banking customers to control their finances and invest their savings easily on their favorite channels.

Features:

Allows banks to extend their customers' networks Provides seamless access to financial products and services Works for every device and wearable technology

Why it's great
Omnichannel and social banking provides a consistent experience across channels, providing customers with seamless access to financial products and services more efficiently, faster and easier.

Presenters

Diana Winstanley, Business Developer
Winstanley is ebankIT's business developer with several years' experience showcasing all the latest technological innovations to financial institutions throughout the globe.
LinkedIn

Luis Corte-Real, Sales Manager
Corte-Real is ebankIT's sales manager; he has worked within the IT Industry for several years and coordinated several projects in consultancy, business analysis and sales.
…

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