Samsung Acquisition of LoopPay Puts Apple Pay on Notice

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Loop

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Forgive me for being a Finovate fanboy. But when Apple unveiled its Apple Pay technology last fall, one of my first thoughts was about Finovate alum and digital mobile wallet innovator, LoopPay.

Apparently, Samsung was thinking the same thing.

Arguably the biggest mobile payments news since the Apple Pay announcement, Samsung has purchased LoopPay, for an undisclosed amount. LoopPay, which took home Best of Show honors in its debut demonstration at FinovateSpring 2014, has leveraged its expertise in magnetic stripe technology (MST) to produce a secure, non-NFC-based, mobile payment solution. With Samsung’s acquisition, the technology will likely become one of the major competitors to Apple Pay.
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Writing at the LoopPay blog, said the company would become a “wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics America” and will continue to “innovate and operate” out of its Boston, Massachusetts headquarters.
For its part, Samsung talked about LoopPay as helping Apple’s biggest hardware rival build “the smartest, most secure, user-friendly mobile wallet experience.” An alliance between Samsung and LoopPay had been rumored since December, according to this reporting from Gigaom. And a major investment last summer also helped raise LoopPay’s profile – and hint at the technology’s potential for wider acceptance.
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Above: Loop CEO Will Graylin at FinovateSpring 2014
Margaret Keane, President and CEO of Synchrony Financial, whose firm participated in last year’s funding, added: “This is great news for our customers who can access their cards and make payments using LoopPay’s contactless MST technology.”
“We look forward to working with LoopPay and others to deliver secure mobile payment solutions for all our 60 million active accounts.”

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Alkami Technology Brings its Digital Banking Platform to Patelco CU

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alkami Technology

Alkami_logo.jpgThe last many of us had heard about Alkami Technology was its appearance as part of Gonzobanker’s five-part, all-star dream banking app:

So which vendor’s functionality would make it into my product? I would take the marketing functionality from Alkami’s ORB (Online Relationship Builder)…”
Flash forward several months later and the Alkami is making headlines with news that it is bringing its digital banking platform to Patelco Credit Union. Patella is described in Bank Innovation’s coverage of the news as a “top 30 credit union” with more than $4 billion in assets and more than 280,000 members.
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Alkami Technology develops online banking solutions for companies and institutions in the financial services industry. The company’s Online Relationship Builder will provide what Patelco CU president and CEO Erin Mendez called “a modern, sophisticated digital banking platform to achieve a unified banking experience.” The credit union will also be upgrading its mobile app and working to encourage its processors to support Apple Pay as part of the overall enhancement to its digital banking options.
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alkami Technology has raised more than $50 million, with its most recent fundraising bringing in more than $23 million of that amount in December. The company is an alum of Finovate Startup 2009, where Alkami Technology demoed as “iThryv.”

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Alumni News– February 19, 2015

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Digital Retail Apps, Dwolla, Encap, eToro, Finsphere, Kantox, MaxMyInterest, Motif Investing, PayPal, Pindrop Security, Ping Identity
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAmerican Banker: Retail Banking Vet Deanna Oppenheimer Joins Tech Vendor Finsphere.
  • American Banker: Federal Payments Website Partners with PayPal, Dwolla.
  • Kantox Surpasses $1 Billion in Foreign Exchange Transfers.
  • Pindrop Security Raises $30 Million.
  • eToro launches its Popular Investment Programme to recognize and reward the network’s top traders.
  • Phroogal reviews Motif Investing.
  • MaxMyInterest brings consolidated tax reporting functionality to its cash optimization platform.
  • Encap Security CEO Thomas Boström Jörgensen and Ping Identity Managing Director EMEA Jason Goode weigh-in on Touch ID banking.
  • Digital Retail Apps featured in Toronto Star’s coverage of Canada’s first financial technology cluster.
  • Azimo launches its money transfer service in China.
  • Finsphere Lands $1.8 Million, Partners with Visa.
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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Transaction Alerts Need to Get Smarter

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Alerts & Messaging, Email Samples, Security & Privacy, Service

fraud word cloud.jpgMy inbox is far from normal. With 25 active financial accounts, all set to maximum notifications, I am drowning in email alerts, push notifications and other helpful communications. But who isn’t overloaded with missives from social media, news feeds, spambots and whatever else is competing for your attention.

Banks need to help users cut down on the noise, by offering smart alerts that don’t bog you down in trivial details. Not to pick on anyone in particular, because all my providers do pretty much the same thing (with the notable exception of BillGuard), but this alert from Bank of America today (see below) is a good example of info overload.
Yes, I’m sure I asked the bank to notify me of any card-not-present transactions. Given the amount of times my card number has been breached in the past five years, it’s a good early warning. But really, do you think it’s necessary to tell me for the 89th consecutive month that you paid my $8.75 Netflix monthly fee? Really, I just want to be informed if it were to suddenly go up or be repeated.
BofA would probably want my permission to stop sending me this monthly alert. So how about a little button that says, “Don’t tell me about this charge if it’s the same next month” or something along those lines. And this should also be an option in the bank’s alert dashboard: “Please don’t alert me to repetitive monthly fees, unless they change.”

Thanks for listening.

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Bank of America email alert (18 Feb 2015)
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Source: Fraud artwork above from NCUA’s MyCreditUnion

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Catching Up with the Innovators of FinovateSpring

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, FinovateSpring 2015

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With our first conference of the year wrapped up in London, we’re gearing up to bring the show stateside in May for FinovateSpring 2015.

Last year, we had an all-star cast on stage. Just look at what they have been up to in the last nine months.

  • Raised more than $350 million 
  • Partnered with more than a dozen major financial services and technology companies including:
    • MoneyGram
    • Visa
    • Digital Insight
    • Ellie Mae
    • AT&T
    • Google
    • Blackstone Technology
    • Overstock.com
    • Meniga
    • Feedzai
Accelerator/incubator programs:
    • Wells Fargo Accelerator
    • SWIFT Innotribe Startup Challenge
Awards, honors, and recognitions:
    • KPMB’s Fintech Innovators for 2014
    • CNBC’s Disruptor 50
    • FSTech Awards
    • Forbes 30 Under 30 (up and coming CEOs)
    • Confirmit Ace Award
    • Future of Money Summit Startup Showcase Award
    • Bob’s Guide Fintech Startups to Watch in 2015
    • Star Performer Award from Speech Technology
    • Fast Company Top 10 Most Innovative in Finance
    • Dallas Business Journal 40 Under 40 (up and coming CEOs)
    • Mobile Innovations Awards
    • Mobile Excellence Award
    • Fintech 50
    • Paybefore Awards
Acquisitions:
    • IntelliResponse acquired by [24]7
    • LoopPay acquired by Samsung
Here’s a closer look at the highlights:
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2015
    • Won Award at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014
    • Raised $2 million
    • Raised $75 million
    • Earned spot on KPMG’s 50 Best Fintech Innovators report
    • Named to CNBC’s Disruptor 50
    • Partnered with Time.com
    • Partnered with Meniga
    • Named “One to Watch” in KPMB’s Fintech Innovators for 2014
    • Won at Future of Money & Technology Summit Startup Showcase
    • Partnered with ProfitStars, Blackstone Technology, and SHAZAM Network
    • Raised $7 million
    • Named to Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 (CEO)
    • Won 2014 Confirmit ACE Award
    • Raised $5.4 million
    • Partnered with Feedzai
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2014
    • Raised $6 million
    • Participated in Wells Fargo Accelerator
    • Partnered with Overstock.com
    • Partnered with several small and medium sized community banks and credit unions
    • Acquired by [24]7
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2014
    • Closed strategic deal to acquire AT&T Watson speech recognition and natural language platform
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateEurope 2015
    • Partnered with IDology, The Rock Trading Ltd
    • Won Most Innovative App for Payments at Mobile Innovations Awards
    • Named to FinTech 50
    • Raised $200 million in debt financing
    • Named Germany’s leading digital innovator of the year by Focus Magazine
    • Earned spot in KPMG’s 50 Best Fintech Innovators Report
    • Raised $40 million
    • Raised $3 million
    • Earned finalist spot at SWIFT Innotribe Startup Challenge
    • Partnered with MoneyGram
    • Raised $50 million credit debt facility
    • Raised undisclosed sum from Visa
    • Raised undisclosed sum from Synchrony Financial
    • Acquired by Samsung
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2014
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateSpring 2014
    • Raised $75 million
    • Named to KPMB’s Fintech Innovators for 2014
    • Named to CNBC’s Disruptor 50
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2014
    • Earned 2014 Star Performer award from Speech Technology magazine
    • Earned #1 spot in Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative in Finance
    • Raised $18 million
    • Raised $50 million
    • Named to KPMG’s Fintech Innovators for 2014
    • Named to CNBC’s Disruptor 50
    • Partnered with MoneyGram
    • Raised $1.3 million
    • Raised $54.7 million
    • Featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Rising Stars of Enterprise Technology (CEO)
    • Named Most Disruptive Financial Sector Technology Finalist in FSTech Awards
    • Partnered with Ellie Mae
    • Raised $900,000
    • Won Best of Show at FinovateFall 2014
    • Named “One to Watch” in KPMG’s Fintech Innovators for 2014
    • Raised $3.4 million
    • Partnered with Google Wallet
    • Named to Bob’s Guide: “Fintech Startups to Watch in 2015”
    • Named winner in Ninth Annual Paybefore Awards
    • Raised $6 million
    • Named finalist in Mobile Excellence Awards for Best Mobile Retail/Commerce Solution
    • Earned spot in Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator

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Updated: Pindrop Security Raises $35 Million

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Pindrop Security

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A major infusion of capital has put the total funding for Pindrop Security at more than $42 million.

The leader of the $35 million Series B round was described in the Atlanta Business Chronicle as a “new West Coast investor.” The Chronicle adds that the new investor has valued Pindrop at more than $200 million.

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The new capital will help Pindrop expand its operations. The Atlanta-based company says it will add 100 jobs in engineering, software development, and sales and marketing—as well as look for a new, larger workspace.
Pindrop Security specializes in combating phone fraud for enterprise call centers. Using acoustic fingerprinting, Pindrop’s technology isable to tell the difference between fraudulent and authentic callers. The company’s services include a database of more than 300,000 phone numbers associated with 40,000 phone-fraud “fingerprints,” a fraud-detection system to prevent call spoofing, and real-time call forwarding protection.
And because of the growing use of phones as part of a multifactor authentication process that requires an out-of-band component, Pindrop also sees its technology as a way to make sure that the phone is the strongest link.
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Presenter: Pindrop Security CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan at FinovateFall 2012
Pindrop Security partnered in AGNOTiO in May to help call centers adapt to safety concerns from mobile customers. And in December, the company teamed up with Contact Solutions and IDology to develop technology to defend against IVR (interactive voice response) fraud.  Pindrop Security launched its combined voice biometric/phoneprinting fraud detection system last year, as well as its NCE mobile NFC payments solution.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and founded in 2011, Pindrop Security demoed at FinovateFall 2012 in New York. Vijay Balasubramaniyan is CEO.

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Kantox Surpasses $1 Billion in Foreign Exchange Transfers

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kantox

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Foreign exchange management solution Kantox last week announced that it has exceeded $1 billion in currency transfers since its 2011 launch.

The U.K.- and Barcelona-based company reports that $200 million was traded in November and December alone. At this rate, it expects to reach another $1 billion by the end of 2015.

Kantox counts more than 1,000 businesses as clients, which is double the number of businesses that were using the platform a year ago.

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Kantox drives down FX costs by disintermediating banks and brokers with its platform, whereby companies can trade directly with one another.

Kantox demonstrated Peer FX at FinovateEurope 2013. Check out the video here.

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Alumni News—February 18, 2015

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ayondo, BehavioSec, Bluefin Payment Systems, BlueVine, Braintree, Check Point, Coinbase, D3 Banking, Expensify, Hidden Levers, Insuritas, Kantox, Lending Club, Malauzai Software, Mitek, NICE Systems, Payfone, Ripple, Taulia, Temenos, TIO Networks, Tradier, TransferWise, Tuition.io
  • Mitek launches Commercial Mobile Deposit Capture, bringing MDC technology to the enterprise.
  • Malauzai reports doubling revenues, growth of customer base to more than 300 community banks and credit unions.
  • D3Banking adds to leadership team with four new appointments.
  • Check out FinovateEurope 2015 in the press.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems to provide Decryptx point-to-point encryption (P2PE) solution to Heartland Payment Systems’ clients.
  • Temenos purchases Akcelerant to accelerate growth in North America.
  • Lending Club partners with BancAlliance, a national consortium of 200 community banks.
  • Fast Company lists BehavioSec, Ripple, Braintree, Expensify, NICE and BlueVine as top innovative companies in the money category
  • PYMNTS discusses retail’s adoption of mPOS with Bluefin Payment systems.
  • ayondo clients now receive free access to real time analysis tools from StockPulse.
  • Kantox uses Apply Financial’s API to enhance customer service and enable more integrated international payments.
  • TechFlash interviews Payfone CEO and co-founder Rodger Desai.
  • Stockhouse: TIO Networks poises to capture major portion of mobile payment market.
  • USA Today highlights Tuition.io for student debt management.
  • TransferWise launches in United States.
  • Code CU to use Insuritas for insurance agency solution.
  • Coinbase Android and iOS apps now available in 11 new languages.
  • Global Financial Private Capital selects HiddenLevers to help advisors grow their practice.
  • Tradier’s API takes 15 million production calls in Jan., a 33% increase in a single month.
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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FinovateEurope 2015 in the Press

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2015

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FinovateEurope 2015 concluded last week and was a huge success. Not only did we host a record-breaking audience, we also saw the most press coverage.

Thanks to all of the contributors who worked hard to document the great technology demonstrated on stage. A special thanks to the analysts at Datamonitor for their extensive coverage.

Here’s the coverage in alphabetical order:

American Banker
U.K. Banks Pilot Loan Sales to Crowdfund Site investUP
Bailey Reutzel
Link

Bank Innovation
Xignite APIs Now Powering +50 FinTech Ventures
by Philip Ryan
Link

Banking Technology
Delegates skeptical at Finovate London
by Elliott Holley
Link

Bob’s Guide
Show report: The best innovators at FinovateEurope 2015
by Nicole Miskelly
Link

CC Group
Finovate Europe 2015—a microcosm of FinTech?
by Daniel Lowther
Link

C’est Pas Mon Ideé blog
Redy, paiement mobile et monnaie virtuelle
by Patrice Bernard
Link
Link (Translated to English)

City A.M.
Finovate Europe: Global FinTech stars meet up at London’s Old Billingsgate
by Oliver Smith
Link

Cloud Lending blog
Cloud Lending at Finovate Europe 2015
by Vidur Jain
Link

CNBC
The valuation industry is now big business
by Jenny Cosgrave
Link

Cognito
Finovate: Understanding what the media wants
by Paul Bowhay
Link

ComputerWorld
Telenor banka și Asseco SEE prezente la prestigioasa Conferință Finovate de la Londra
by Adaugat de Dali Dinu
Link

Crowdfund Insider
investUP launches New Platform at Finovate Europe
by Samantha Hurst
Link

Datamonitor
Finovate FinTrack: Advice Games
by Sean Harrison
Link

Finovate FinTrack: BankClip by Crealogix
by Helen Allingham
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Fiserv
by Theresa Jameson
Link

Finovate FinTrack: mydesq
by Katri Tuomainen
Link

Finovate FinTrack: PROFOS by CPB Software
by Helen Allingham
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Quisk
by Samuel Murrant
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Yoyo
by Theresa Jameson
Link

Finovate FinTrack: Novabase wizzio
by Daoud Fakhri
Link

Finovate: Our Best in Show
Link

FinTrack FinovateEurope 2015 Special: Day One (Report)
Link

FinTrack FinovateEurope 2015 Special: Day Two (Report)
Link

Finance Zweinull
Die Letzte Finovate
by Boris Janek
Link

The Financial Brand
Radical Bank Branch Design Fuses Digital with Physical
by Jim Marous
Link

Finextra
Finovate Europe 2015—Day 1 roundup
Link

Finovate Europe 2015—Day 2 Roundup
Link

Finews.ch
Fintech: Fünf heisse für Trends 2015
Link

Finovate
FinovateEurope 2015 Best of Show Winners Announced
by David Penn
Link

Forrester’s Benjamin Ensor’s Blog
Finovate Europe 2015: Execution Is Harder Than Idea Generation
by Benjamin Ensor
Link

FS Tech
Finovate reveals ‘best of show’ winners
by Michelle Stevens
Link

Innovation in Finance
Coinjar interview at Finovate Europe, London, February 2015
by Damien Ducourty
Link

Lets Talk Payments
The Best of FinTech Europe from Finovate 2015
by Kate
Link

LinkedIn Pulse
Fintech isn’t just for ‘Fins’
by Matthew Stammers
Link
 
Time for a Finovate Fringe Festival?
by David Jones
Link

Mapa Research
Finovate Europe 2015: Our top picks from day one
by Katie Nachshon
Link

Mollie
Mollie: een pionier in de Fintech
by Remco Boer
Link

My Private Banking
Wealth Management Solutions at FinovateEurope 2015
by Francis Groves
Link
 
Nostrum Group
Finovate Day 1—reflections from FinTech’s showpiece
Link

Finovate Day 2—FinTech’s focus is on user experience
Link

FinovateEurope 2015—Nostrum’s reflections
Link

Ormsby Street
Key Performance Metrics
by Martin Campbell
Link

Payment Eye
3 ways payment technology is boosting financial inclusion
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link

Payments Journal
Recapping Finovate London 2015
by Tristan Hugo-Webb
Link

Pirean blog
Pirean demonstrate their Identity and Access Management as a service offering at FinovateEurope 2015
Link

Sitepoint.com
Finovate 2015, the Part Mobile is Playing in Fintech
by Chris Ward
Link

Rts.rs
Banka u džepu – tehnologija budućnosti
Link

SME Finance Forum
Finovate Europe 2015—bigger and even more interesting than last year!
Link

SME Insider
3 of the best new technologies to supercharge SME growth
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link

How to get the funding you need to grow your business
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link

Tech City News
Fintech monthly: Judopay raised $6 million, banking apps tested, Finovate Europe and much more…
by Ben Goldsmith
Link

Tech Cocktail
LifePay Acquires iboxPro, Expands into Asian Markets
by Will Schmidt
Link
 
The Telegraph
Banks get out their chequebooks to chase the next banking revolution
by Marion Dakers
Link

Le Temps
Du gadget à l’innovant, tour d’horizon  des nouveautés de la finance
by Mathilde Farine
Link

Treasury Insider
The 5 hottest new trends in fintech
by Lindsey Kennedy
Link
 
Waters Technology
KPAX Brings Data Reconciliation Product to the Cloud
Link
 
World Finance
Heilmann: ‘Germany needs to take a hardline on Greek debt’
Link

As more coverage is published, we’ll be adding it to this post in the coming weeks. If you have a piece you’d like us to include, please contact [email protected].

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Bill.com Raises $50 Million, Doubling Total Funding

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bill.com

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In a round led by Silicon Valley Bank and featuring participation from current investors, Bill.com has added $50 million in new capital.

The investment takes the company’s total funding to more than $120 million.

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Because most businesses still rely on manual processes for accounts payable and accounts receivable, Bill.com CEO and founder René Lacerte believes there is a “significant market opportunity” for Bill.com and its banking partners. Jacob Moseley, senior market manager for Silicon Valley Bank, praised Bill.com’s growth and put the company “at the center of the digital payments space.”

“Bill.com tackles a problem that plagues small business,” Moseley says, “and distills it down to a simple solution for paying bills and getting paid.”

Existing investors also participating in the round were:

  • American Express Ventures
  • August Capital
  • Commerce Ventures
  • DCM Ventures
  • Napier Park Global Capital
  • Scale Venture Partners

Lacerte said the funding will help the company grow its core technology and offer its services across the United States.

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Presenter: Bill.com CEO and founder, René Lacerte, at FinovateSpring 2012

Forbes.com contributor, Ben Kepes writes “that’s a lot of cash for something as unsexy as bills.” But the investment strongly suggests that sexy is as sexy does. According to the company, Bill.com is used by three of the top-10 U.S. banks and 35 of the top-100 accounting firms, and is seated “at the intersection point between banks, the accounting software providers, and businesses.” More than 600,000 network members use the technology to process more than $19 billion in payments a year.

CNBC’s coverage of the funding includes a breakdown of Bill.com’s previous funding rounds, as well as a peek into the company’s growth plans (190 employees by the end of 2015, up from the current 140), and potential IPO (“two to three years” away). The CNBC column quotes Mozilla CFO Jim Cook, whose company spends “thousands of dollars a month” on the technology, citing both cost-savings and a superior audit trail as reasons why he finds the technology “easier and more robust.”

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Bill.com demoed its technology as part of FinovateSpring 2012.

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FinovateEurope 2015: Tweets by the Thames

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2015

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Our biggest FinovateEurope to date is in the books. Thanks to all our presenters, sponsors, partners, and, of course, our record-setting attendees.

A special thanks to our scribes in social media. Our Twitter feed (#Finovate) continues to be a great way to hear and be heard—from the first demo on Tuesday through the naming of the Best of Show winners Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a sampler of some of the more colorful commentary and insightful observations from FinovateEurope 2015.

Thanks to everyone who participated and we’ll see you in San Jose for FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose!

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