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FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 7

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on April 28, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015, FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek

It’s hard to believe FinovateSpring 2015 is just two weeks away. We’re getting excited about greeting familiar faces in the fintech community and eager to see the wide variety of fintech to be demoed 12/13 May. Register here to join us.

Today’s Sneak Peek introduces 15 more presenters.

Here’s a catalogue of the entire Sneak Peek series:

Avoka’s frictionless digital engagement platform eases the pain of online transactions for financial organizations.

Why it’s great
Avoka gets real-world results.

Founded: 2002
HQ: Broomfield, CO

CBW Bank will show Yantra’s ONE Card platform that provides a secure and convenient alternative to traditional bank accounts for financial institutions, program managers and corporate clients.

Why it’s great
Yantra rebuilds plumbing, standardizes and normalizes data across channels, and embeds compliance.

Founded: 1892
HQ: Weir, Kansas

Cloud Lending Solutions‘ CL Exchange increases the volume of loans for all non-bank lenders.

Why it’s great
Cloud Lending Solutions uses an auction marketplace to bring borrowers and lenders together.

Founded: 2012
HQ: San Mateo, CA

Context Relevant’s automated behavioral predictive analytics software is solving Wall Street’s most daunting challenges for large financial institutions.

Why it’s great
Context Relevant works in real time.

Founded: 2012
HQ: Seattle, WA

Dealstruck’s web and mobile managed-asset-based line of credit offers flexible capital to small businesses.

Why it’s great
Dealstruck uses intuitive interfaces, advanced integration with existing technologies, strategic financial institution partnerships and easy-to-understand functionality.

Founded: 2013
HQ: Carlsbad, California

DriveWealth’s Brokerage-as-a-Service offers mass retail investors low cost access to the world’s most desired asset class.

Why it’s great
DriveWealth offers a full-stack investing platform.

Founded: 2012
HQ: Chatham, New Jersey

Dwolla’s platform of innovation, authentication and directory tools offer government, businesses, and consumers the ability to disseminate personal information when sending or receiving payments.

Why it’s great
Dwolla charges just $0.25 per transaction or is free for transactions $10 or less.

Founded: 2008
HQ: Des Moines, Iowa

Dynamics produces and manufactures intelligent, powered payment cards.

Why it’s great
Dynamics’ intelligent payment cards enable users to earn exclusive rewards faster than traditional cards.

Founded 2007
HQ: Cheswick, Pennsylvania

Encap Security ‘s strong authentication solution powers user verification and transaction security.

Why it’s great
Encap Security works with any and every access point of any bank.

Founded: 2013
HQ: Palo Alto, California

EyeBuy’s TV and video monetization platform enables consumers to purchase products on impulse that they see on TV.

Why it’s great
EyeBuy’s technology recognizes products on TV and video.

Founded: 2014
HQ: Rancho Murieta, California

FIS Mobile’s mobile banking feature solves the mobile innovation gap for financial institutions.

Why it’s great
FIS Mobile enables banks to expand their card services to consumers’ mobile devices.

Founded: 2006
HQ: Jacksonville, Florida

Kabbage’s Kabbage Card offers access to working capital for small businesses.

Why it’s great
Kabbage gives small businesses immediate access to their funds.

Founded: 2009
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia

Knox Payments is a payment processing platform that uses customers’ bank account credentials, not their credit card.

Why it’s great
Knox enables merchants to process payments across all platforms for just $0.18.

Founded: 2014
HQ: Richmond, Virginia

LendingTree is an intelligent personal finance platform that simplifies the complexities in loan shopping to save borrowers money.

Why it’s great
LendingTree uses brand equity, proprietary technology and complex algorithms.

Founded: 1996
HQ: Charlotte, North Carolina

LendKey is an online lending technology platform for consumers and financial institutions.

Why it’s great
LendKey offers a transparent loan shopping experience.

Founded: 2007
HQ: New York City, New York

Stay tuned on Thursday when we’ll introduce the remaining presenters.

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The Evolution of Mobile Weather Apps (and what it means for banking)

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 28, 2015
Categories: Mobile Banking, UX

In 2007, I’d never used an Apple product. But I was one of the first to get an iPhone that year. I wanted to see for myself what the much-touted device meant for the future of financial services. While there was no banking in v1.0, I found myself enthralled with the weather button, my first taste of the elegance of a native app experience.

Fast forward (almost) 8 years, and the weather button(s) is still my most-used app (as you can see on my home screen at right with four weather choices). But in the face of fierce competition, even weather apps have evolved from being completely static to having a useful alerting functions. The Dark Sky app (screenshot below, note 1) hits me with a popup notification and jingle 10 minutes before it’s about to rain, which comes in very handy in Seattle.

Look at the schematic of the Dark Sky weather app below. Five years ago weather apps gave us the a simple probability of rain some time during the whole day. Now it predicts precisely the exact minute rain will start in my neighborhood. That’s a massive functional improvement.

Relevance to bankers
The evolution in mobile weather demonstrates the importance of transitioning from static information retrieval to active alerting. A good passive experience was fine for the first wave of mobile information (2008 to 2013/2014), but the best apps now go way beyond that now.

Let’s switch gears to money management. Your preferred banking/PFM app knows how much you’ve spent compared to previous periods, it knows how much you make and what bills are due before the next paycheck. So your money app can alert you, in real time, when you are bumping up to the last of your discretionary spending each pay period.

And while that’s a pragmatic use case, it’s also a negative one since the app keeps reminding users how strapped they are. A more entertaining use revolves around purchase recommendations. My money manager (Mint in this case, but it could be my bank/card issuer), knows I’m a coffee shop addict. The app could give me a heads-up when I was in the vicinity of a high-rated coffee shop. Of course, the recommendations would have to be highly relevant and focused, or I would just ignore (or turn off) the alerts.

Bottom line: It’s time for banking/PFM apps to be as smart about your money as Dark Sky is about the rain. I forecast a bright future for FIs that get it right.

——–

Note:
1. Dark Sky is so good, they actually can charge $4 for it in face of dozens of free apps (including the one that comes bundled on all iPhones).

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on April 28, 2015
Categories: Authentify, Credit Karma, Kony Solutions, Lighter Capital, On Deck Capital, PayPal, peerTransfer, Prosper, Tradier, Trunomi

On Finovate.com

FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 7

Around the web

After being acquired by Prosper in January, American Healthcare Lending has changed its name to Prosper Healthcare Lending.

Early Warning’s Authentify xFA wins Gold for Authentication Product of the Year at Info Security’s 2015 Global Excellence Awards.

Lighter Capital closes twice as many deals in Q1 of 2015 than it did in all of 2014.

On Deck expands small business lending in Canada.

Trunomi adds new chief architect, Kartik Venkatesh.

Tradier teams up with Apex Clearing Corporation to bring brokerage solutions to digital RIAs.

peerTransfer adds 56 new schools to its client base in Q1 2015, bringing its total to 650+ educational providers worldwide.

VentureBeat: PayPal brings its One Touch payments to the web.

Credit Karma wins gold medal in the Financial Services/Banking division at the 2015 Edison Awards.

UST Global and Kony launch new mobile app for Blue Cross of Idaho members.

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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Riding the Uber Wave: Capital One Rebates 20% for 1 Year

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 27, 2015
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Capital One, Credit/Debit Cards

Last week, Capital One launched a national marketing promotion with Uber that provides a 20% rebate on rides for one year. And unlike many (most?) card offers, it’s good for both new and existing Capital One customers. However, the ride-rebate applies only to the bank’s Quicksilver cash-back card, so I’m out of luck with my Capital One Venture card.

But they did throw us non-Quicksilver customers a bone yesterday, with an email (see below) offering two free Uber rides (up to $30 each). For me, that’s probably about the same as the 20% rebate, so I was ready to fire up the app and swap out my Bank of America card. But wait, there’s that pesky fine print again. It turns out the free rides are only for new Uber customers. Out of luck again.

Analysis
Overall, this is a great promotion. The bank gets both new cardholders plus a pile of Capital One cards stored in Uber’s app, a great retention tool (the primary goal?) along with a long-term revenue stream (albeit, not enough to recoup the cost of the 20% rebates, unless Uber is picking up a big chunk of the rebate).

The only thing I don’t like is the disingenuous email to non-Quicksilver customers. Capital One alludes to the fact that the free rides are for new Uber users (see highlighted body copy in screenshot below). But that statement is easy to overlook or misinterpret. It’s only when you get to the tiny type below, which is further hidden in a gray background (see highlighted fine print below), that the “new Uber customer” requirement is explicitly stated.

Why not just come out and say it clearly in the body of the email (or even in the subject line)? Existing Uber customers are going to find it anyway when they try to redeem. Just be clear up front and save everyone the hassle! Better yet, don’t send the email to cardholders who are already using Uber (that could have been determined with an email match for me).

Final thought. Why not provide all cardholders an incentive to enter any Capital One card into the Uber app? Remind rewards cardholders that Uber rides can be paid with points (e.g., Purchase Eraser). Or how about a sweeps? For example, one out of every 100 rides (or 1,000) are free to Capital One cardholders until May 30, 2015. That could be funded through interchange alone.

——-

Capital One email to its Venture cardholders (23 April 2015)
Note: Highlighting mine

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FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Aurora Financial Systems and Mistral Mobile

By David Penn Posted on April 27, 2015
Categories: Aurora Financial Systems, FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek, Mistral Mobile

There are just a few weeks to go before FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose. And while our Sneak Peek preview series is already six editions deep, we’ve a few more presenting companies we’d love to introduce you to.

Today’s edition of our Sneak Peek Preview features a Finovate newcomer as well as a conference veteran, Aurora Financial Systems and Mistral Mobile. Both companies will join 70 other innovators on stage 12/13 March for two days of the best of fintech in 2015. To get your ticket and save your spot, visit our registration page today.

If you’ve missed an edition of our Sneak Peek Preview series, the links below will help you get up to date. Stay tuned for more previews of our FinovateSpring 2015 presenters this week.

Aurora is a program manager and issuing processor focused on delivering real-time, transactional data with its interoperable platform.

Features

The NOTE Card. A stylish and effective solution for overspending
Powerful, real-time messaging capabilities
Connect to multiple leading PFMs

Why it’s great
Aurora is partnering with Fintech leaders such as MX and Finicity to give consumers better choices and better experiences with their financial applications.

Presenters

Scott Stagg, CEO, Founder

Stagg has spent the lat 20 years in the financial services industry, having been the managing member of a $500 million hedge fund before turning his efforts to creating better financial products.
LinkedIn

Chris Melendez, Chief Strategy Officer

Melendez is passionate about improving the financial lives of consumers and spent 10 years at American Express where he helped hundreds of clients maximize the value of their transactional data.
LinkedIn

m-Aegis from Mistral Mobile is the only comprehensive, multifactor, telco-independent authentication and security solution for mobile applications and OTP replacement.

Features:

One-stop, integrated solution to protect against a whole array of risks
Multifactor authentication of device and user identity
Supports mobile banking, mobile payments, and mobile commerce

Why it’s great
No more trade-offs between high level of security and usability. M-Aegis delivers both.

Presenters

Ludwig Schulze, CEO

Schulze has held executive roles in mobile and enterprise software companies and was a consultant with BCG. Prior to founding Mistral, Schulze was general manager for Nokia’s Mobile Financial Business.
LinkedIn

Paul Yoo, Chief Commercial Officer

Yoo has worked at HoganLovells and Cooley LLP and was covering partnerships and commercial relationships as well as IP and regulation at Nokia’s Mobile Financial Services business.
LinkedIn

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on April 27, 2015
Categories: Aurora Financial Systems, ayondo, BioCatch, D3 Banking, DRAFT, Encap, ID.me, itBit, Loop, Mistral Mobile, NICE Systems, peerTransfer, Telenor banka, TradeHero

On Finovate.com

FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Aurora Financial Systems and Mistral Mobile

Around the web

D3 Banking unveils its new mobile app.

American Banker takes a look at itBit and its plan to become a trust company in New York State. See itBit at FinovateSpring 2015.

PYMNTS.com’s roundup of the “Mobile Wallet Wars” features LoopPay.

Everett Blog previews version 3.0 of Encap’s smart authentication solution.

Financial-SpreadBetting.com interviews Sarah Brylewski, managing director at Ayondo.

BioCatch and Mistral Mobile win spots on Red Herring 2015 Top 100 Europe. See Mistral Mobile at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose.

TradeHero releases version 3.1.0 of its Android app.

DRAFT featured at LaunchingNext. See DRAFT’s Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in San Jose next month.

NICE Systems partners with Capgemini to deliver a new Robotics Automation Hub.

Washington Business Journal interviews Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me.

peerTransfer to provide its international tuition payments service at another 56 educational institutions.

TechCrunch’s guest column on “industry convergence” in financial services highlights Telenor Banka.

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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What We Are Talking About at FinovateSpring 2015

By David Penn Posted on April 24, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015

As our review of the themes of FinovateSpring 2015 reveals, fintech entrepreneurs are talking about their innovations in dramatic new ways.

These themes remind us just how dynamic the concept of “financial technology” has become. From machine learning to social spending, the innovators of FinovateSpring 2015 show us how technology can help make financial services a more rewarding, engaging, and friction-free world for both businesses and individuals.

Our full list of presenters for FinovateSpring 2015 is below. We can’t wait for the conference on May 12 and 13 in San Jose, California, and are looking forward to seeing you at the show. Tickets are on sale now, so register today and save your spot.

Can’t get enough? Check out our Sneak Peek Preview Series for more information and background on the innovators of FinovateSpring 2015.

Questions? Visit our FAQ page for answers.

FinovateSpring 2015 is sponsored by The Bancorp, CapitalSource, City National Bank, Envestnet, Financial Technology Partners, Hudson Cook LLP, KPMG, Kyriba, Life.SREDA, and Zions DirectTV.

FinovateSpring 2015 is partners with Aite Group, American Banker’s Association (ABA), Bank Innovators Council, Bankers Hub, BayPay Forum, bob’s guide, Breaking Banks, California Bankers Association, Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Celent, ebankingnews, Filene Research Institute, fin-tech.org, HotWire, Javelin Strategy & Research, Mercator Advisory Group, The Paypers, SME Finance Forum, and Western Independent Bankers.

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Alt-Lender EZBOB Deepens Pockets by $46 Million

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on April 24, 2015
Categories: EZBOB, Funding, Wonga

U.K.-based alternative lending company EZBOB this week announced it pulled in $46 million in funding. The full amount of the Series C round was supplied by Oaktree Capital and brings the company’s total funding to $66.5 million.

According to The Telegraph, EZBOB will use the new funds to refinance existing debt and increase its loan offerings to small businesses.

This is the company’s second large announcement this year. In February, EZBOB purchased Everline, Wonga’s lesser-known small business finance arm. Both EZBOB and Everline are now rolled up underneath an umbrella group, Orange Money.

Combined, the two companies have furnished U.K.-based SMEs with more than 6,000 loans totaling $83+ million.

Orange Money, which offers an average interest rate of 16%, does not view its services as competitive toward traditional banks. Orange Money CEO Tomer Guriel says, “We’re complementary to the banks and are there to provide access to capital for business owners that have been rejected by their bank.”

EZBOB demonstrated its online application process at FinovateEurope 2014 in London. Wonga debuted its iPhone app at FinovateFall 2010 in New York.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on April 24, 2015
Categories: CSI globalVCard, EZBOB, FIS, GMC Software Technology, Infosys, Kapitall, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, ReadyForZero, Revolut, Sedicii, SigFig, SmartAsset, TransferWise

On Finovate.com

SigFig Brings on New Advisory Board Members and $1 Million in Funding

Alt-Lender EZBOB Deepens Pockets by $46 Million

What We Are Talking About at FinovateSpring 2015

Around the web

InvestorCentral looks at market simulators and trading with Kapitall.

Alaska Air picks FIS as its partner for upcoming strategic payment initiatives including EMV.

Delicious Nutritious chooses globalVCard Spend Secure for its business payments.

Kiplinger highlights Motif Investing among “brokers that pay you to open an account.”

GMC Software Technology to provide GMC Inspire to Mail Handling Services.

Personal Capital launches app for the Apple Watch.

ReadyForZero interviews Michael Carvin, CEO of SmartAsset. Check out SmartAsset’s new technology at FinovateSpring.

Revolut and Sedicii win finalist spots in the Innotribe Startup Challenge.

American Banker features bitcoin exchange itBit. Watch itBit’s live demo at FinovateSpring.

TechCrunch: Infosys to acquire Kallidus for $120 million.

A look at “billion dollar” British startups at Forbes.com features TransferWise.

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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FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 6

By David Penn Posted on April 23, 2015
Categories: Credit Sesame, Hip Pocket, itBit, Kofax, Mitek, NAMU Systems, Persistent Systems

FinovateSpring 2015 is right around the corner. And with news this morning that attendance has already topped 1,000, now is a great time to register and save your spot at our annual spring event on May 12 and 13.

A total of 72 companies will be on stage at the City National Civic in San Jose, California, to demonstrate the latest in financial technology live in front of our audience of industry professionals, venture capitalists, bankers, media, and more. And along with more than 500 minutes of live demos, we make sure you’ve got plenty of time to meet, greet, and network with presenters, sponsors, and fellow attendees alike.

Today in our Sneak Peek Preview series, we’re featuring another seven companies to help you get to know a little more about the companies that will be presenting next month at FinovateSpring 2015.

Check out the previous installments of our Sneak Peek series below. And stayed tuned for more introductions to our FinovateSpring 2015 presenters next week.

Credit Sesame helps millions of consumers access, monitor, and manage their credit, improve their finances and protect their credit and identity for free.

Features:

Mobile integration combined with the power of voice control and TouchID
Manage, monitor, and protect your credit and identity anytime, anywhere
White label / turn-key solution

Why it’s great
Credit Sesame makes it easier than ever for mobile users to access, monitor, and manage their credit, improve their finances, and protect their identity on the go.

Presenters

Adrian Nazari, CEO
Nazari is a serial entrepreneur, an acknowledged industry expert, and founder of Credit Sesame Inc.
LinkedIn

Jesse Levey, Head of Product
Levey is a product innovator and growth expert with more than 12 years experience in technology and financial services.
LinkedIn

Hip Pocket engages your mobile and website visitors by using social influence and personalized consultation to generate new, qualified mortgage leads.

Features:

Unique peer-group comparisons
Real-time integration and personalization savings estimates
Results and call-to-action are customized to each user’s situation

Why it’s great
Hip Pocket allows your institution to provide an engaging, intuitive user experience that marries the emotional and logical decision-making processes.

Presenters

Mark Zmarzly, CEO, Founder
Zmarzly is a passionate innovator and thought leader in the financial industry. He has delivered multiple TEDx talks and presented for the ABA, BAI, and JD Power & Associates.
LinkedIn

Todd Cramer, Head of Digital Experience & Design
Cramer is a MBA with more than five years of experience in branding, user experience and eCommerce for a $5B bank enterprise.
LinkedIn

itBit is a global bitcoin exchange offering institutional and retail investors a powerful platform to buy and sell bitcoin.

Features:

Trusted, institutional-grade exchange
Available around the clock
Offers the best security, privacy, and asset protection

Why it’s great
itBit is the most trusted and secure platform for trading bitcoin.

Presenters

Charles Cascarilla, CEO, Co-founder
As a bitcoin early adopter with more than 15 years’ experience in financial services, Cascarilla has a unique perspective and interest in integrating bitcoin with traditional systems.
LinkedIn

Bobby Cho, Director of Institutional Client Group (ICG)
As the head of itBit’s ICG team, Cho provides tailored client relationships trading services to itBit’s global network of institutional clients.
LinkedIn

Anyone can hit a baseball thrown straight down the middle, but Kofax’s robust mobile new account opening platform can accommodate curveballs, screwballs, and the off-speed pitches in life.

Features:

Mobile capture of IDs and supporting documents
Intelligent decisioning allows complex exception and compliance management
Seamless multichannel customer experience

Why it’s great
Paramount to mobile onboarding is giving customers the right product at the right time with the right risk-assessment profile in a completely automated fashion.

Presenters

Drew Hyatt, Senior Vice President, Mobile Applications
Hyatt is a leading domain expert in mobile image-capture and is responsible for Kofax’s mobile product roadmaps, go-to-market strategies, and product positioning.
LinkedIn

Diane Morgan, Senior Business Development Manager
As Senior Mobile Business Development Manager at Kofax, Morgan partners with financial institutions to identify, develop, and execute their mobile capture and imaging strategies.
LinkedIn

Mitek, the leading innovator of mobile imaging for financial transactions and identification, will demonstrate how to optimize mobile for secure customer acquisition.

Features:

Increase mobile form completion by 30-50%
Double number of accounts booked via mobile
Meet KYC requirements and complete ID check in mobile channel

Why it’s great
Mobile account opening starts are dramatically increasing while desktop is declining. Mitek’s next innovations will do for account opening what it did for check deposits.

Presenters

Michael Nelson, Vice President for Business Development
Nelson leads the business-development team focused on expanding mobile-imaging usage within banking and beyond.
LinkedIn

Sarah Clark, Vice President Product Owner
Clark directs product strategy and the roadmap for our mobile-imaging platform and suite of products including mobile deposit, our market leading MiSnap SDK and Mobile Identity product line.
LinkedIn

With the growing importance of the user experience and customer intelligence in digital channels, NAMU Systems sets a new standard in mobile banking.

Features:

Highly visual user experience—connecting money with memories
Targeted advertising based on social spending patterns
Google-like search in banking

Why it’s great
NAMU helps your customer to have joyful banking experiences with relevant connection to memories and a beautiful user interface backed by NAMU’s patent-pending platform.

Presenters

Thomas Ko, President, Co-founder
Ko is ex-global head of mobile banking at Citibank, developing the most successful corporate mobile banking solution worldwide.
LinkedIn

Piotr Budzinski, CEO, Co-founder
Prior to NAMU, he led strategic technology projects for European banks and U.S. asset managers, including UniCredit and Franklin Templeton.
LinkedIn

BuddyPay from Persistent Systems is a real-time payment-switching mechanism. The control of payment is shifted from buyer to payer for online/in-store purchases of products and services in real-time.

Features:

The Payment Switching Mechanism can be used while selling/fulfilling literally anything
Sell physical goods, insurance, billpay, flight and hotel booking
Intuitive mobile app

Why it’s great
You can “sell” products/services to people who don’t have money to “buy” it!

Presenters

Abhiram Modak, Principal Business Analyst & Industry Expert
Modak has multiple years of diverse experience and is an innovator at heart. He can come up with solutions to most complex business problem with his domain knowledge and technology understanding.
LinkedIn

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Fintech Fundings: 18 Companies Raise a Cool $1 Billion Week Ending April 24

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 23, 2015
Categories: Funding

money_tree The alternative lending sector, especially in China, is soaking up funds at an unprecedented pace. This week alone, more than $750 million went to startup lenders, 80% earmarked to China (Lufax $485 million and Jimubox $84 million), while Funding Circle (London, $150 million), EZBob (London, $45 million), Smava (Germany, $16 million), and Assetz (London, $4.5 million) rounded out the sector’s inflow.

Across the total fintech sector, 18 companies raised $1.03 billion this week. And three new unicorns were officially unveiled: Lufax, Funding Circle, and Oscar, a U.S. health insurance startup.

In addition to EZBob ($45 million), two other Finovate alums brought in new cash this week: eToro which added $12 million to its already-announced $27 million round and SigFig took in another $1 million.

Here are the fintech funding rounds by size between 18 April and 23 April:

Lufax
P2P consumer loans
HQ: Shanghai, China
Latest round: $485 million (at $10 billion valuation)
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, investing, Ping An Insurance (investor)
Source: Wall Street Journal

Funding Circle
P2P consumer loans
HQ: London, United Kingdom
Latest round: $150 million Series E (at $1 billion valuation)
Total raised: $273.2 million
Tags: Crowdfunding, loan marketplace, peer-to-peer, unicorn, P2P, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Oscar
Health insurance
HQ: New York City, New York
Latest round: $145 million Series A (at $1.5 billion valuation)
Total raised: $295 million
Tags: Insurance, analytics, healthcare, medical payments
Source: Crunchbase

Jimubox
P2P small business & consumer loans
HQ: China
Latest round: $84 million Series C
Total raised: $131.2 million
Tags: SMB, peer-to-peer lending, underwriting, investing
Source: FT Partners

EZBob
P2P small business loans
HQ: London, United Kingdom
Latest round: $45 million
Total raised: $66.5 million (which includes $11 million of debt)
Tags: Crowdfunding, marketplace lender, underwriting, SMB, investing, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

CompareAsia
Asian financial comparison site
HQ: Hong Kong, China
Latest round: $40 million Series A
Total raised: $46 million
Tags: Financial lead generation, sales, insurance, banking, investing, MoneyHero, MoneyMax, MoneyGuru, Money101, SingSaver, MoneyHalo (brand names)
Source: Crunchbase

Perseus
High-speed global network for trading and other financial services
HQ: New York City, New York
Latest round: $20.5 million
Total raised: $20.5 million
Tags: Network, connectivity, trading, infrastructure, Goldman Sachs (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

Smava
P2P consumer loans
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Latest round: $16 million Series B
Total raised: $29.1 million
Tags: Loan marketplace lender, underwriting, investing
Source: FT Partners

Gravie
Health insurance services for employers
HQ: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Latest round: $12.5 million Series B
Total raised: $25.6 million
Tags: Enterprise, employee benefits, health insurance
Source: FT Partners

eToro
Social trading and investment network
HQ: Limassol, Cyprus
Latest round: $12 million (addition to $27 million round in Nov 2014 of which $10 million is debt)
Total raised: $72.9 million
Tags: Trading, sharing, currency, fx, investment management, investing, CommerzBank (investor), Silicon Valley Bank (creditor), Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

SureCash
Mobile banking platform in Bangladesh
HQ: Bangladesh
Latest round: $7 million Series B
Total raised: $7+ million
Tags: Mobile banking, payments, Hong Kong (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

Assetz Capital
P2P business loans
HQ: London, United Kingdom
Latest round: $4.5 million
Total raised: $4.5 million
Tags: Lending, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, SMB, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Cardfree
Mobile point-of-sale technology
HQ: Scottsdale, Arizona
Latest round: $4 million Series
Total raised: $14 million
Tags: Merchants, payments, acquiring, mobile, POS
Source: FT Partners

OpenFin
Financial services development platform
HQ: New York City, New York
Latest round: $3 million Series B
Total raised: $9.6 million
Tags: Development tools, desktop financial services, investment management, IT
Source: Crunchbase

New Media Insight
Mobile payments (mPaay)
HQ: Phoenix, Arizona
Latest round: $2 million
Total raised: $2 million
Tags: Payments, SMB, acquiring, mobile
Source: FT Partners

CoinTent
Micropayments
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $1.1 million Seed
Total raised: $1.1 million
Tags: Payments, mobile, micropayments, SMB, digital content
Source: Crunchbase

SimplyInsured
Group health insurance quotes
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $1 million Seed
Total raised: $1.8 million
Tags: Insurance, healthcare, SMB, lead gen, Y Combinator
Source: Crunchbase

SigFig
Online portfolio/investment manager
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $1 million Series
Total raised: $16 million
Tags: Robo-adviser, ETF, asset allocation, investing, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

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Related
Not a technology company, but a part of the fintech ecosystem (not included in total funding amount)

untapt
Fintech software developer recruiter
HQ: New York City, New York
Latest round: $3.1 million Series A
Total raised: $4.2 million
Tags: Developers, builders, recruiting, headhunter
Source: Crunchbase

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SigFig Brings on New Advisory Board Members and $1 Million in Funding

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on April 23, 2015
Categories: Funding, SigFig

Robo-adviser platform SigFig today announced it added five members to its advisory board. Four of the new board members are investors in Nyca Partners, which furnished the San Francisco-based company with $1 million in new funding.

SigFig founder and CEO Mike Sha says he is more excited about the connections that Nyca has to offer than the funding it supplied.

SigFig, launched in 2007 as Wikinvest, has since garnered a total of $30 million in funding.

According to SF Gate, SigFig tracks around $350 billion in assets for its users. The company declined to comment on its total amount of assets under management.

SigFig demonstrated its automated investment platform at FinovateFall 2011.

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