Fintech Accounted for 10% of Companies Funded Online via Angel List in 2014

angellist-logo.pngIt’s no secret that the fintech sector is hot. We have tracked $6 billion in new investments during the past 6 months alone (see note 1). Most of those dollars are from big VC deals, such as last week’s $58 million to Transferwise and $30 million to Ripple Labs.

But what about smaller fintech seed rounds? While it’s hard to get solid data across all industries, online fundraising through Angel List’s platform provides a few clues.
In 2014, Angel List reported that 243 startups across all tech sectors raised $104 million through its online platform. While the size of the deals aren’t known, we can see that 23 of the companies fit into a broad definition of “financial technology.” That’s just under 10% of the startups funded through Angel List’s new online funding option.
Here’s a listing of the startups funded, including close date of the angel round:
Q1, 2014
—-
RealCrowd (19 Feb)
LedgerX (22 Feb)
Estimize (14 March)
Q2, 2014
—-
Equidate (24 April)
Abacus (30 April)
PayByGroup (13 May)
RealtyShares (21 May)
ZipZap (22 May)
Q3, 2014
—-
True Link Financial (22 July)
Lenda (22 Aug)
MakeLeaps (26 Aug)
Splitwise (11 Sep)
Blockstream (18 Sep)
Cleartax (18 Sep)
OneName (26 Sep)
Q4, 2014
—-
Coinsetter (1 Oct)
Koinfy (2 Oct)
ChartIQ (4 Nov)
Neighbor.ly (4 Dec)
Elsen (22 Dec)
ExpenseBot (26 Dec)
Close date unknown
—————————
OpenDoor
Vouch Financial
——
Note:
1. Includes more than $1 billion raised in IPOs from Lending Club, OnDeck and Yodlee.

Micronotes Receives $910k in Funding

MicronotesLogo4.jpgCross-selling is an effective tool in financial services, helping banks market everything from mortgages to new savings accounts. MicronotesCross-Sell helps banks take the sales conversation from the branch to the online channel.

According to an SEC filing, this week, the Massachusetts-based company announced it pulled in $910,000 in funding, bringing its total to $4.8 million. It plans to use the funding to drive the business to profitability.
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Micronotes’ Cross-Sell technology enables consumers to lead themselves through the sales process by answering questions about their status and interests. Aside from helping banks generate leads and learn more about customers, it also offers the opportunity to educate customers about products and services.

Alumni News– February 3, 2015

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgProfitStars adds Banno Mobile solutions to the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Preferred Service Provider program.
  • Lending Club to serve as exclusive POS financing for Alibaba.com’s U.S. business buyers.
  • Visa CEO selects NBCUniversal’s Vasant M. Prabhu as CFO.
  • On Finovate.com: “Fidelity Investments Acquires eMoney Advisor for Reported $250 Million”
  • The Philippine National Bank deploys core banking solution and EFT switching solution from FIS.
  • ABC2 News in Baltimore talks with Robb Gaynor of Malauzai Software about mobile banking apps.
  • Thinking Bigger profiles Blooom and its new way to 401(k).
  • The Costa Rica Star features Azimo, a money-transfer service.
  • Financial Advisor’s look at assets managed by roboadvisors highlights Wealthfront, Financial Guard, Personal Capital, and Betterment.
  • Jumio enhances capturing technology for its ID card-scanning service, Netverify.
  • Discussion of the “positive powers” of fintech in The Guardian features ACI Worldwide, Azimo, TransferWise, Ripple, and Blockchain.
  • Check out our final Sneak Peek before we launch into a record-breaking FinovateEurope.
  • CSO Online features Nymi, Myris, and EyeVerify.
  • Kabbage funding More Than $3 Million per Day.
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.

Fidelity Investments Acquires eMoney Advisor for Reported $250 Million

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Congratulations to our latest “one and done alum,” eMoney Advisor. The wealth management technology company that made its Finovate debut last September has been acquired by Fidelity Investments.

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed; however, Philly.com is reporting that Fidelity paid more than $250 million for the company.

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eMoney Advisor’s leadership will remain intact, including founder Edmond Walters who will continue as CEO. The company will also keep its offices in California and Pennsylvania where Walters promises to “hire a lot more Philadelphia people.”
Walters highlighted eMoney Advisor’s history with Fidelity’s advisor clients as one of the main synergies contributing to the deal, as well as Fidelity’s “multi-million-dollar commitment to technology.” Michael Wilens, president of Fidelity Enterprise Services, underscored the point, saying, “We apply design-thinking in our labs, incubate new companies and work with some of the brightest minds in the country—all for the benefit of our clients.”
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Above (left to right): Chad Porche, User Interface Designer, and Kyle Wharton, Business Development, at FinovateFall 2014.
eMoney Advisor will be used to help Fidelity build out its data management, office, and collaborative tools for investors and advisors. Fidelity’s Institutional clients who work with registered investment advisors, broker-dealers, and banks will be the first to take advantage of the technology.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, eMoney Advisor’s platform helps financial professionals serve the investment and wealth management needs of their clients. eMoney has 25,000 registered investment reps and 46 out of the top 50 broker dealers using its technology, which tracks more than $1 trillion in client assets. EMX, the company’s “rebranded” platform, was previewed at FinovateFall 2014 and released in December.
If you missed it last fall, check out our Finovate Debuts feature on e-Money Advisor.

Alumni News—February 2, 2015

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgThe Telegraph features SigFig and Motif Investing in its list of the 10 best apps for new investors.
  • PostConnect to deploy customer communications management technology from GMC Software Technology.
  • Heckyl Technologies chooses Gurpreet Sidana for President-Sales.
  • Tom’s Guide column on identity theft quotes Adam Levin of IDTheft911.
  • American Banker reports: Green Dot to start offering credit lines to its customers.
  • TechVibes: “Trulioo Launches $100,000 Developer Fund to Support Financial Inclusion Efforts”
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.

Bolstr Raises $1.7 Million in Seed Funding

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Since its launch in 2011 Bolstr has been on a mission to offer a simple way for small businesses to get financing quickly. It began lending in 2013 and since then, the 1,000+ investors on its platform have delivered $1 million to more than 12 companies.

The Chicago-based startup pulled in its first round of funding yesterday. The $1.7 million comes from Montage Ventures, Kapor Capital, DRW Trading Group, Merrick Ventures, and Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.

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Bolstr will use the funding to add to its six-person team and scale the platform. It aims to host 15 to 20 deals per month by the end of this year (it did not disclose its current volume).

On the Bolstr platform, accredited investors contribute to small business’ funding campaigns, which range from $25,000 to $500,000. The businesses have 30 days to reach their target amount, but since launch, every campaign has reached its goal within five days.

Businesses retain full ownership and pay investors back over 12 to 36 months, depending on the agreed-upon revenue share. So far, there have been zero defaults.

Bolstr debuted its platform at FinovateFall 2012 in New York.

Fintech Fundings: 16 Companies Raise $150 Million Last Week of January

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January went out with a bang, with another $150 million invested into 16 fintech companies. Finovate alums secured two-thirds of the cash with four companies taking in $90 million: Transferwise ($58 million), Ripple Labs ($30 million), Bolstr ($1.7 million) and Spreedly ($150,000).

In January, a total of $772 million was raised, $565 million in equity and $200 million in debt. That’s an annual run rate of more than $9 billion, or about $7 billion only considering the equity investments. 
The deals from Jan 24 through Jan 30 in order of size:

International money transfers
Latest round: $58 million
Total raised: $90.4 million
Tags: Remittance, international transfers, FX, payments, SMB, London, UK, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate
Open source payment network 
Latest round: $30 million
Total raised: $39 million
Tags: Cryptocurrency, virtual payments, San Francisco, California, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate
Digital lender
Latest round: $17 million
Total raised: $32 million
Tags: Credit, lending, personal loans, student loans, refi, San Francisco, California 
Source: Crunchbase
Builds trust between business & trading partners
Latest round: $12.5 million
Total raised: $12.5 million
Tags: B2B, SMB, enterprise, payments, identification, security, McLean, Virginia 
Source: Crunchbase
High-tech and high-touch bookkeeping services
Latest round: $7.0 million
Total raised: $10 million
Tags: Accounting, SMB, bookkeeping, Techstars, Vancouver, Canada
Source: Crunchbase
Solutions to automate accounts payables
Latest round: $6.0 million
Total raised: $10.2 million
Tags: Invoicing, billing, SMB, B2B, accounts payables, billpay, payments, Beaverton, Oregon
Source: Crunchbase
Helping consumers manage health care savings accounts 
Latest round: $5.1 million
Total raised: $5.1 million
Tags: Healthcare, payments, HSA, FSA, health insurance, Hunt Valley, Maryland 
Source: Crunchbase

Personal financial mangagement
Latest round: $3.7 million
Total raised: $7.8 million
Tags: Personal finance, money management, consumer, aggregation, PFM, online, mobile banking, Edinburg, Scotland, UK
Source: Crunchbase
Remittances that directly pay for goods & services
Latest round: $2.8 million
Total raised: $3.6 million
Tags: Remittances, payments, P2P transfers, Africa, Paris, France
Source: Crunchbase
Blockchain technology
Latest round: $2.5 million
Total raised: $2.5 million
Tags: Cryptocurrency, payments, blockchain, bitcoin
Source: Crunchbase
Crowdlending for small businesses
Latest round: $1.7 million
Total raised: $1.7 million
Tags: Lending, underwriting, SMB, investing, Carthage, Illinois, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate
Japanese Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $2.9 million
Tags: Cryptocurrency, payments, Japan
Source: Crunchbase
Social lending platform
Latest round: $1.0 million
Total raised: $1.0 million
Tags: Lending, underwriting, social networks, P2P, peer-to-peer, New York City
Source: Crunchbase
Credit card with highly customizable controls
Latest round: $1.0 million
Total raised: $1.0 million
Tags: Credit, debit cards, customization, YC, security 
Source: Crunchbase
Netherlands Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: $570,000
Total raised: $570,000
Tags: Cryptocurrency, payments, Netherlands
Source: Coindesk
Secure card tokenization technology
Latest round: $150,000
Total raised: $2.2 million
Tags: Credit/debit cards, security, payments, Durham, North Carolina
Source: Crunchbase

Finovate Alums Populate the FinTech50

Looking for the most innovative startups in fintech? The FinTech50 is a great place to start.

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It also turns out to be a great place to find Finovate alums. Of the 50 companies recognized by FinTechCity’s panels of judges as being “game-changers transforming the future of finance,” nearly half are alumni of Finovate conferences – including our upcoming event in London.
Here is the list of alums in alphabetical order:
According to Chris Skinner, who was one of the panelists, more than 700 companies competed for spots in the FinTech50. The selection panel included veterans of finance and technology from companies ranging from American Express and Google to Silicon Valley Bank and UBS. The FinTech50 winners were announced at an invitation-only event in London.
Speaking of London, Five Degrees, InvoiceSharing, Ixaris, mBank, and Trunomi will be in town next month, demonstrating their latest solutions at FinovateEurope 2015, February 10 and 11. More information on the event available here.

Alumni News– January 30, 2015

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgWipro wins multi-year, IT outsourcing contract from Allied Irish Banks (AIB). Join Wipro in London for FinovateEurope 2015 next month.
  • The Financial Services Blog features more than 20 Finovate alums in its look at the 50 most innovative FinTech firms.
  • MasterCard PayPass partners with St. Petersburg Metro to bring contactless payments to Russian subway.
  • Blackhawk Network unveils Blackhawk Engagement Solutions to build customized incentive and rewards programs.
  • FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 6 is now up.
  • American Banker highlights Cloud Lending’s role with banks.
  • PYMNTS interviews TSYS Merchant Solutions’ Tom Boyer about changes in the payments acquiring space.
  • Bolstr Raises $1.7 Million in Seed Funding.
  • The blog herald shares an infographic detailing online security methods: Nymiband, Myris, Eyeverify, BehavioSec, Entersekt.
  • Lifehacker features Betterment, Mint, Personal Capital as tools to manage your investments.
  • Bitcoinist features Bitbond. Check them out at FinovateEurope February 10 & 11.
  • BetaBoston: After a successful 2014, student services company SimpleTuition rebrands as Valore.
  • Mitek Q1 revenue up 21% YOY; reports 3,300 financial institutions now signed & 2,700 live.
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.

FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 6

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February is only a few days away, which means that the first Finovate conference of the year – FinovateEurope 2015 – is almost here. We are well on our way to surpassing last year’s record crowd of 1,000. So don’t delay, get your tickets to join us in London on February 10 and 11. 
We’ve just revealed the official list of presenters to help whet your appetite for what some of fintech’s most innovative companies will demonstrate live on stage.
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Today’s installment of our FinovateEurope 2015 Sneak Peek series features Bitbond, Revolut, Smart e-Money, TiViTz, TransferTo, and Wipro.
Previous installments of our Sneak Peek series are below:

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Bitbond is a global peer-to-peer bitcoin lending platform. Get access to affordable loans and profitable savings from all around the world.
Features
With Bitbond AutoInvest:
  • Build a loan portfolio automatically
  • Define regions and risk categories to invest in
  • Re-invest received loan repayments
Why it’s great
Bitbond AutoInvest creates a portfolio of profitable loans for you at 0% fees according to your preferences.
Presenters

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Radoslav Albrecht, Co-founder and CEO
Background in economics. Prior to founding Bitbond, Albrecht was Senior Consultant at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Previously with Deutsche Bank London in structured equity.

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Robert Nasiadek, Co-founder and CTO
Programmer since childhood. Before joining Bitbond, Nasiadek started the Ruby on Rails development company, El Passion. Board advisor at Gimmy.pl.

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Revolut is a personal money cloud allowing you to avoid all hidden banking costs.
Features
You can exchange currencies at interbank rates, send them through social networks and spend with a multicurrency card acceptable anywhere.
Why it’s great
Revolut – Personal Money Cloud
Presenters

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Nikolay Storonsky, CEO
Storonsky has eight years experience in financial services (trading). Most recently he worked for Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers.

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Vlad Yatsenko, CTO
Yatsenko has 12 years experience in developing IT projects in major financial institutions including Credit Suisse, UBS, and Deustche Bank.

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Smart e-Money’s LockByMobile is an anti-fraud security solution which allows you to lock and unlock your cards in real-time using your mobile phone.
Features
  • Provides an extra layer of security for your added peace of mind
  • Easy-to-use interface to lock/unlock your cards with a simple swipe of the finger
  • Customizable lock settings and built-in alerts
Why it’s great
Feel secure when using your card locally or even abroad. With LockByMobile, you have the power to prevent fraud from happening.
Presenters

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Angelito Villanueva, VP & Head of Innovation
With over 20 years experience, Villanueva is the lead in unlocking the huge potential of e-money by introducing digital payments innovations for financial inclusion including building a dynamic ecosystem.

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Guillaume Danielou, Senior Product Manager
With 12 years experience in IT Development/Consulting/Product Development, Danielou has experience working throughout the entire product development life cycle process in international environments.

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TiViTz College $avings Game-a-thon is a fully automated, easy-to-use, market-disrupting, patent-pending, activity-based fundraising tool for children’s college savings.
Features
  • Complements existing financial savings vehicles
  • Creates new college savings accounts and relationships
  • Provides a marketing tool for consumer and business banking
Why it’s great
The Game-a-thon provides families with a solution to afford higher education by significantly increasing children’s savings, while improving their math skills and financial literacy.
Presenters

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Siobhan Mullen, CEO
Former aerospace executive, Special Advisor to the NASA Administrator, and experienced high-tech entrepreneur in launch services, satellite communications and data distribution.

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Stephen Scully, President


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TransferTo’s Value Remittance service is an innovative and unique remittance solution that enables migrants to determine how the funds they send are allocated.
Features
Value Remittance provides direct payment of services such as electricity, mobile airtime, and education, while providing a new revenue stream for financial institutions and MTOs.
Why it’s great
Value remittance allows senders to know exactly how their money is being spent and provides the receiver with instant access to the selected service.
Presenters

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Eric Barbier, CEO
As founder and Chief Executive Officer, Barbier oversees the strategic direction of the company as well as manages the relationships with many of TransferTo’s customers and partners.

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Charles Damen, EVP Global Business Development
Damen is responsible for the development of new services, strategic partnerships, and the growth of global accounts with over 18 years of experience in telecommunications, Internet, and payments.

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Wipro ngGenie Smart Banking Assistant provides the “next generation banking experience” for customers. It helps by providing you with right information at the right place.
Features
A personalized, contextual, next generation user experience for banking customers that can result in reduced costs of serving customers and an increased cross sell / up sell opportunities.
Why it’s great
Wipro myAdvisor helps in day-to-day transactions and acts as your personal financial advisor.
Presenters

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Mukund Kalmanker, General Manager
Kalmanker is a general manager at CTO office and has a rich background in the banking domain. He had earlier handled the banking business for Wipro under the Analytics and Information Management domain.

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Sudhakar Babu Tamminedi, Practice Head
Tamminedi has over 15 years of experience in Consumer and Enterprise Mobility applications across industries. He has provided end-to-end mobility solutions form conceptualization to deployment.

Pick up your tickets for FinovateEurope 2015 today! Want more info? Visit our FAQ page.

Spreedly Raises $150,000 in New Funding

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North Carolina-based payments specialist Spreedly has secured a new investment of $150,000. Information on the investors was not immediately available. The new funding takes the company’s total to more than $2 million.

Spreedly’s “credit card vault in the cloud” technology gives merchants and aggregator platforms the ability to work simultaneously with multiple payment gateways. With its single API and secure credit card tokenization, Spreedly’s solution provides both greater flexibility and control over the payments process.

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Spreedly recently reported processing $50 million in credit card transactions in December 2014, the company’s 22nd month since its re-launch to its current incarnation. Spreedly launched a collaboration with PayItSimple in December, as well, helping the Israel-based POS consumer financing company integrate with 70% of U.S. payment gateways. Spreedly currently serves more than 70 gateways in more than 80 countries.
Founded in 2008, Spreedly demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2014. Justin Benson is CEO.

Cachet Financial Solutions Integrates with Apple Pay

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With Apple’s recent record-breaking earnings report, there’s been no shortage of Apple-talk lately, and today is no different.

Earlier this week, Cachet Financial Solutions announced its Select Mobile Money platform now integrates with Apple Pay.

Cachet’s prepaid card clients can enable customers to make purchases using Apple Pay at the physical point-of-sale (POS).

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How it works:

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users open their white-labeled Select Mobile Money app and click on the Apple Pay icon. Their prepaid card is automatically placed top-of-wallet in Passbook, ready to pay.

After payment, the Select Mobile Money app shows the user’s updated balance and transaction details (see image on right).

President and CEO of Cachet, Jeffrey Mack, likes the improved user experience and, states, “we expect this unique feature to attract new prepaid users to our clients, as well as bring new banks, credit unions and AFS providers to Cachet.”

The Apple Pay update is available now to its clients as an upgrade.

Cachet Financial demonstrated its Select Mobile Money app at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.