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Encap Security Integrates with Touch ID

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on May 12, 2015
Categories: Encap, FinovateSpring 2015

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2015.

Encap Security demonstrated how it can enable financial institutions to take advantage of new authentication methods:

Encap is demonstrating how their platform can enable institutions to offer choices to their customers, without sacrificing on security, or creating a management headache. Showcasing their integration of Touch ID, Encap will demonstrate how their solution can detect and use device capabilities as they come to market. The result is a flexible platform that allows financial institutions to take advantage of new authentication factors as they emerge, without the pain of reengineering the entire authentication framework. This flexibility allows Encap to be a truly omnichannel authentication option, and perhaps the only one that improves both security and usability.

Presenters: Adam Dolby VP, Americas; David Nayes, sales director, Americas

Product Launch: June 2014

Metrics: Encap Security’s management team has an unrivaled pedigree in authentication and mobile financial services. The Encap Security executive team has 60+ years of experience across mobile financial services, identity management, and mobile app security. The total investment made in Encap Security is €4.8M.
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions, through other fintech companies and platforms

HQ: Palo Alto, California, and Oslo, Norway
Founded: 2007
Website: encapsecurity.com
Twitter: @encapsecurity

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Top Image Systems Unveils its eFLOW Lending Solution to Optimize Processing for Originators

By David Penn Posted on May 12, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015, Top Image Systems

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2015

Our next presenting company is Top Image Systems, demonstrating its innovation in loan-origination technology.

eFLOW Lending is Top Image Systems’ financial technology innovation designed to transform what is currently a very manual, time-consuming, and expensive origination process into a streamlined, automated, self-service-enabled experience with automatic “completeness checks” during the application process. With the ability to automatically capture and process any volume of documents—of any type, anywhere, at any time—eFLOW Lending optimizes loan processing, increasing accuracy and efficiency for originators. Through document classification and automated data-capture, TIS’ solution enables cost reduction and decreases mortgage-processing cycle-times while ensuring maximum security and compliance.

Presenters: Taylor Adkins, technical product management; Alayne Pregeant, senior director, global marketing

Product launch: May 2015

Metrics: Following our IPO in the mid-90s, we recently raised $15M in a secondary offering in February 2014; 2013 annual revenue: $40M; employees: 250
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions

HQ: Tel Aviv, Israel
Founded: March 1991
Website: topimagesystems.com
Twitter: @TopImageSystems

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DarcMatter Brings Transparency, Access to Alternative Investments

By David Penn Posted on May 12, 2015
Categories: DarcMatter, FinovateSpring 2015

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2015.

DarcMatter demoes its platform that gives investors access to alternative investments in private equity, venture capital, and more.

DarcMatter is an investment platform that answers an increasing appetite for alternatives by providing visibility into an otherwise opaque marketplace. DarcMatter provides private issuers comprehensive transactional technology and distribution channels to enhance exposure to a greater number of investors. The platform also features a seamless and compliant engine to receive investments, securely store and disseminate information, and manage the flow of funds. The platform’s unique model enhances investor buying-power by lowering the buying minimums of select opportunities while considerably streamlining capital-raising logistics for private issuers.

Presenter: Founder, CEO Sang Lee; CTO Stan Solodkyy

HQ: New York City, New York
Founded: November 2014
Website: darcmatter.com
Twitter: @DarcMatterHQ

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Cardless Cash from FIS Helps Mobile Banking Customers Make Safe, Speedy ATM Withdrawals

By David Penn Posted on May 12, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015, FIS

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2015.

FIS is up next with its Cardless Cash innovation for mobile banking:

Cardless Cash enables mobile banking users to get cash at an ATM in under ten seconds—all from the privacy of their smartphones. Cardless Cash protects customers with biometric security and eliminates skimming fraud risks associated with plastic cards. If you have your phone, you’ve got your cash. Customers experience unparalleled convenience, speed and security of access to cash using only an app.

Presenter of Cardless Cash app: SVP Doug Brown, general manager

Product Launch: January 2015
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions, through other fintech companies and platforms

HQ: Jacksonville, Florida
Founded: January 1968
Website: fisglobal.com
Twitter: @fismobile

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PayActiv’s MyMo Helps Consumers Intelligently Manage Their Finances

By David Penn Posted on May 12, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015, PayActiv

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2015.

PayActiv introduces MyMo, an app and ecosystem that help employees cover the gap between earning and spending:

PayActiv’s MyMo (My Money) app and ecosystem requires no change in existing IT or payroll process of an employer. Employees enrolled in MyMo can (1) intelligently manage their finances; (2) instantly access funds to bridge the timing gap between earning and spending; (3) deal with emergencies without taking predatory loans or having exposure to overdraft fees.

MyMo presenter: Founder and CEO Safwan Shah of PayActiv

Product Launch: November 2014

Metrics: Money raised: $6.7M; employees: 10; revenues: early revenue has begun; multiple customers signed
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through financial institutions, through other fintech companies and platforms, licensed

HQ: San Jose, California
Founded: January 2013
Website: payactiv.com
Twitter: @payactiv

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Meet Vouch: The First Social Network for Credit

By David Penn Posted on May 12, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015, Vouch

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2015.

And we’re off! The first demo of the day comes courtesy of Vouch, launching its “social network for credit” platform:

Friends and family members trust you with money, so Vouch does, too. Get started by visiting the Vouch website, or downloading the mobile app for iOS or Android. Borrowers apply for loans and ask friends, family, and other personal connections to “vouch” for them by answering a short survey. Vouchers are encouraged to back a portion of the loan to help further reduce the price to borrowers. “Vouches” are used alongside standard financial data to gain a more complete picture of creditworthiness, bringing down the price of loans for borrowers. The more vouches a borrower receives, the lower their rate.

Presenter: Yee Lee, CEO and co-founder

Product Launch: March 2015

Metrics: Funding, $3M (Seed round)
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C)

HQ: San Francisco, California
Founded: December 2013
Website: vouch.com

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FinovateSpring 2015: Fintech Showdown in San Jose

By David Penn Posted on May 11, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015

Halfway through rehearsal day on Monday, we learned that the attendance for FinovateSpring 2015 was nearing the 1,400 mark. And the best news about that is that we’re still happy to save a spot for you and yours, just visit our registration page before it’s too late.

Since rehearsal day is the perfect time to make sure everything is just right when the lights go up Tuesday morning, here are a few tips and reminders to help you make the most of your Finovate experience, wherever you may be enjoying it.

Bizzabo You!

Finovate events are known for many things, and high-caliber networking is one of them. So we are again turning to the social networking app, Bizzabo, to help attendees make the most of their time at the show. Bizzabo makes it easy for attendees to reach out and network with each other before, during, and after the show. It is also a great way to learn more about the presenting companies, the event’s sponsors and partners, and the event itself.

Registered attendees can download the Bizzabo app (iOS here, Android here). You can also access Bizzabo via your desktop at this link. If you’re new to Bizzabo, you can sign up using your LinkedIn credentials or set up an account using the same email address you used when registering for Finovate, as well as a password.

After you’ve downloaded the app, search for “Finovate” then select “Join” and you’re set.

If you have any difficulties signing in, please email us at [email protected].

Tweet Me!

If you can’t make it to San Jose this week for FinovateSpring 2015, don’t despair! Our live Twitter feed is the next best thing to being here.

Find us on Twitter at the handle @Finovate, and be sure to mark your tweets #Finovate. You’ll join an intelligent, occasionally irreverent, community of savvy fintech fans whose insights, observations, and clever remarks will ensure you don’t miss a moment of the show.

Remember you can always get more information about FinovateSpring 2015 at our event page. We have the two-day event schedule, list of presenters, sponsors, partners, and more.

We hope to see you this week at the conference! If you have any questions, check out our FAQ page or send us an email at [email protected].

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on May 11, 2015
Categories: ACI Worldwide, AlphaClone, Bright Funds, Fastacash, itBit, Kreditech, Lending Club, Motif Investing, Prosper, Silanis Technology, Toshl, Zopa

On Finovate.com

FinovateSpring 2015: It’s time for a Fintech Showdown in San Jose

Around the web

Forbes column on a “$30 trillion customer service experience” features insights from Motif Investing CEO Hardeep Walia.

Wells Fargo funding authorizes ApproveIt Web Server from Silanis Technology as part of their approved e-signature solutions program.

Sun Sentinel article highlights Toshl Finance in a discussion on the eight things you should know before going to college.

Column on RIAs and the active ETF market quotes AlphaClone CEO Mazin Jadallah.

Bright Funds establishes six disaster-response funds to support Nepal disaster relief.

The Economist features Lending Club, Prosper, Zopa, and Kreditech in its look at P2P lending and “financial democracy.”

Axis Bank launches Ping Pay, a multisocial payment app, in partnership with Fastcash.

PYMNTS.com considers what itBit’s New York banking license and $25M funding means for the broader bitcoin community. See itBit at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose this week.

ACI Worldwide signs Letter of Commitment to support U.K. Faster Payments Scheme’s New Access Model.

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: We’re On the Way to San Jose

By David Penn Posted on May 10, 2015
Categories: FinovateSpring 2015

Spring has sprung! And with it, the return of FinovateSpring to the Bay Area for our second event in San Jose!

This year we will miss the throngs of San Jose Sharks fans marching down the street, packing the pubs, and enjoying the performance of their beloved NHL playoff contender. But we are looking forward to the throngs of financial technology fans who have already saved their spots at what is shaping up to be the biggest FinovateSpring to date.

So, whether you will be joining us here in San Jose, or following us online via Twitter feed (@Finovate) or our Live Blog here at Finovate.com, here’s everything you need to know to be ready when the lights go up on the Finovate stage Tuesday morning.

Schedule
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 12 May. The first demo begins at 8:55 a.m. The final demo of Day One begins at 4:02 p.m.

On Wednesday, registration begins at 8:00 a.m. The first demo will start at 8:55 a.m. The final demo of Day Two begins at 2:28 p.m., with the Best of Show award ceremony at 4:15 p.m.

There’s still time to be a part of our record-breaking audience. Visit our registration page and pick up your ticket today.

Venue
FinovateSpring returns to the City National Civic, near the campus of San Jose State University. Here’s the address for those of you joining us in person:

135 West San Carlos Street
San Jose, California 95113

Presenters
Over the course of two days, FinovateSpring 2015 will feature 72 companies demonstrating the latest in fintech innovation live on stage. Take a peek at our presenters below, and learn more about them at our presenters page, as well as in our Sneak Peek preview series.

We hope to see you in San Jose! For more information, visit our FAQ page or email us at [email protected].

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itBit Raises $25 Million, Earns New York State Trust Charter Ahead of Finovate Debut

By David Penn Posted on May 8, 2015
Categories: Funding, itBit

Days away from its debut at FinovateSpring in San Jose, itBit has earned an investment of $25 million from new and existing investors. Participating in the round were Liberty City Venture, RRE Ventures, and individual investor, Jay W. Jordan II, as well as James Pallotta, chairman of Raptor Capital Management.

The round takes itBit’s total funding to more than $30 million. The company said in a statement that the capital will be used for both increasing investment in future products and services, as well as hiring talent in a wide variety of areas from engineering and operations to marketing and customer service.

The investment comes as itBit announces that it has won approval as a New York State trust company. This makes itBit the only federal and New York state compliant, U.S.-chartered and managed bitcoin exchange.

Charles Cascarilla, itBit co-founder and CEO, explained that the approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) will allow itBit to “serve as a custodian for our clients’ assets” and take advantage of the large pool of bitcoin traders in the U.S. Accounts will be dollar-denominated and FDIC-insured.

“Our mission at itBit has always been to create a trusted, institutional-grade exchange. Regulatory compliance is an important pillar of that mission,” Cascarilla said.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York, itBit provides a platform for both institutional and retail traders and investors to buy and sell bitcoin. The company recently announced major additions to its board of directors: former FDIC chair Sheila Bair, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, and former FASB Chair Robert H.Herz.

Join itBit in San Jose for FinovateSpring 2015 next week. Seats are going quickly as we head for another record-breaking attendance at our annual spring event. Visit our registration page and save your spot today.

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FinTech Unicorn List: 36 Companies + 34 More Closing In

By Jim Bruene Posted on May 8, 2015
Categories: Funding, Metrics & Market Research, Unicorns

Update: An update of this post was published in July 2015.

———

It’s been a year since we published the first fintech unicorn list. It includes companies (and exits) in the financial sector (either direct services or software) founded since 2000 and worth at least $1 billion (actually we are using $900 million as the floor).

This year, the list has more than tripled to 36 companies, up 25 from the 11 last year. It’s partly a reflection of increased transparency into global valuations. For example, China has four alt-lenders on the list compared to zero last year. But mostly it’s a dramatic increase in private company valuations, especially in the lending sector.

In addition, we’ve listed 34 “semi-unicorns” (narwhals?) with estimated values of $500 million to $800 million. In total, there are 70 companies with a total estimated value of about $100 billion (~ 2 Ubers).

Here is the sector breakdown:

Sector	Unicorns	Semi-Unicorns	Total
Lending	11	11	22
Payments	11	6	17
Investing	1	5	6
Real estate	2	3	5
Insurance	3	1	4
Accounting	2	0	2
Credit reports	2	0	2
Security	1	1	2
Bitcoin	1	2	3
Other	2	5	7
Total	36	34	70

Some caveats:
1. For private companies (28 of the 36 unicorns), values are hugely dependent on the terms of the deal (read this), so they are not comparable to public company valuations.
2. About half the unicorn valuations are derived from public statements by the companies or investors during recent rounds or acquisitions. However, half are estimated by analysts/algorithms from tracking firms, especially Funderbeam, an Estonian startup that’s relatively new on the scene. So there is a lot of room for error in these valuations.
3. For the “near-unicorn” list we’ve added a number of companies that have recently raised large rounds, but have not made public statements about valuation. We estimated most of those at $500 million, but these are simply educated guesses.
4. We are using a broad definition of fintech including real estate. Also, we’ve included a few Finovate alums that are not pure-play fintech, but that have a significant financial services business.

—————-

The Fintech Unicorn List

Company	Sector	Finovate Alum?	Value ($Bil)	Value Source
1. Lufax	Lending	No	10.0	WSJ (4/15)
2. LendingClub	Lending	Yes	6.5	Public
3. Square	Payments	No	6.0	Oct 2014 round
4. Zillow	Real estate	No	5.4	Public
5. Zenefits	Insurance	No	4.5	May 2015 round
6. Stripe	Payments	No	3.5	Dec 2014 round
7. Powa Technologies	Payments	Yes	2.7	Nov 2014 round
8. Klarna	Payments	Yes	2.5	Mar 2014 round
9. Xero	Accounting	Yes	2.4	Public
10. CommonBond	Lending	No	2.0	Funderbeam
10. CreditKarma (note 1)	Credit Reports	Yes	2.0	Funderbeam
10. Oscar	Insurance	No	2.0	Funderbeam
10. One97	Payments	No	2.0	Feb 2015 round
14. Prosper	Lending	Yes	1.9	April 2015 round
15. Dataminr	Analytics	No	1.6	Funderbeam
16. Zuora	Payments	No	1.5	Funderbeam
16. FinancialForce	Accounting	No	1.5	Funderbeam
16. LifeLock	Credit Reports	No	1.5	Public
16. Adyen	Payments	No	1.5	Dec 2014 round
20. iZettle	Payments	No	1.4	Funderbeam
21. SoFI	Lending	No	1.3	Feb 2015 round
21. Housing.com	Real estate	No	1.3	Funderbeam
21. Qufenqi	Lending	No	1.3	Funderbeam
21. Revel Systems	Payments	No	1.3	Funderbeam
25. On Deck	Lending	Yes	1.2	Public
26. FundingCircle	Lending	No	1.0	CB Insights
26. Jimubox	Lending	No	1.0	Funderbeam
26. Kofax	Doc mgmt	Yes	1.0	Acquired (Lexmark)
26. TransferWise	Payments	Yes	1.0	CB Insights
26. Trusteer	Security	No	1.0	Acquired (IBM)
26. Mozido	Payments	No	1.0	Finovate est
32. Avant	Lending	No	0.9	Forbes (4/15)
32. IEX Group	Investing	No	0.9	Funderbeam
32. RenRenDai	Lending	No	0.9	Funderbeam
32. Coinbase	Bitcoin	Yes	0.9	Funderbeam
32. ClimateCorp	Insurance	No	0.9	Acquired (Monsanto)

Semi-unicorns
Wonga	Lending	Yes	0.8	Finovate est
Wealthfront	Investing	Yes	0.8	Funderbeam
Rong360	Lending	No	0.8	Funderbeam
Betterment	Investing	Yes	0.8	Funderbeam
Braintree	Payments	Yes	0.8	Acquired (PayPal)
Q2	Banking	Yes	0.8	Public
WorldRemit	Payments	Yes	0.7	Funderbeam
Taulia	Payments	Yes	0.7	Funderbeam
Radius	Marketing	Yes	0.7	Funderbeam
Oportun (Progreso Financiero)	Lending	Yes	0.7	Finovate est
Circle Internet Finance	Bitcoin	No	0.6	Funderbeam
AnJuke	Real estate	No	0.6	Funderbeam
Kabbage	Lending	Yes	0.6	Funderbeam
EzBob	Lending	Yes	0.6	Funderbeam
FangDD	Real estate	No	0.6	Funderbeam
VivaReal	Real estate	No	0.5	Funderbeam
Motif Investing	Investing	Yes	0.5	Funderbeam
Snowball Finance	Investing	No	0.5	Funderbeam
PolicyBazaar	Insurance	Yes	0.5	Funderbeam
Credorax	Payments	No	0.5	Funderbeam
Cardlytics	Marketing	Yes	0.5	Funderbeam
Zopa	Lending	Yes	0.5	Finovate est
CAN Capital	Lending	Yes	0.5	Finovate est
Receivables Exchange	Lending	Yes	0.5	Finovate est
Affirm	Lending	No	0.5	Finovate est
Ayadsi	Analytics	Yes	0.5	Finovate est
21 Inc	Bitcoin	No	0.5	Finovate est
Bill.com	Payments	Yes	0.5	Finovate est
FreeCharge	Payments	No	0.5	Finovate est
U51	Lending	No	0.5	Finovate est
Financial Software Systems	Risk Mgmt	No	0.5	Finovate est
Strategic Funding Source	Lending	Yes	0.5	Finovate est
Ping Identity	Security	Yes	0.5	Finovate est

Personal Capital Investing Yes 0.5 Finovate est

————

Source: Compiled by Finovate, 8 May 2015

Notes:
1. Update (24 June 2015): Credit Karma now valued at $3.5 billion (source: Finovate)

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on May 8, 2015
Categories: Betterment, CAN Capital, Check Point, FutureAdvisor, itBit, LearnVest, Lending Club, MiiCard, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, Prosper, Seergate, SigFig, Wallaby Financial, Wealthfront, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

itBit Raises $25 Million, Earns New York State Trust Charter Ahead of Finovate Debut Next Week in San Jose

Around the web

The Fiscal Times features Wealthfront, Betterment, Personal Capital, FutureAdvisor, SigFig, and Motif Investing in a column on the rise of the robo-adviser.

FierceFinanceIT highlights Lending Club and Prosper in its look at growing investment in P2P lenders by Wall Street.

Version 3.5 of Wallaby Financial’s new Android app provides ambient alerts to help consumers save on gasoline.

MiiCard CEO James Varga quoted in a column on Edinburgh’s tech pioneers.

CAN Capital reaches milestone of $5 billion in working capital facilitated through its platform.

Report on fintech in The Economist references Lending Club among key disruptors.

Nokia partners with Checkpoint for telco cloud security.

MyECheck completes acquisition and integration of Seergate.

Yodlee adds LearnVest acquirer, Northwestern Mutual, as client.

Javelin Strategy & Research lists 4 trends to watch at Finovate next week. Come see them unfold live at FinovateSpring 12/13 May.

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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