Walmart to Distribute GreenDot Prepaid Products in 2015

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: GoBank, Green Dot

GoBank_Logo_small.jpgIf your new year’s resolution is to better manage your money, you can pick up a tool to help you accomplish it at Walmart.

Prepaid card company, GreenDot has extended its contract with retail giant, Walmart. Through the agreement, Walmart will distribute the California-based company’s prepaid products through 2015, including GreenDot’s GoBank, which was debuted at FinovateSpring 2013.

Since Walmart accounted for 53% of GreenDot’s revenue in Q3 of 2014, this is good news for GreenDot, though the two have yet to reach a multi-year agreement.
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GoBank is a mobile and online-only account aimed at the un- and underbanked. Its mobile-first UI offers users free cash deposit and direct deposit services, mobile RDC, free ATM usage, online billpay, and a P2P payments platform.

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Jemstep to Power Redhawk Online Advisor

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Jemstep

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What do you get when you combine online investment advisory with traditional human advisors?

One outcome is Redhawk Online Advisor, a new service made possible due to a partnership between online investment advisory firm, Jemstep, and Redhawk Wealth Advisors, a full-service registered investment advisor.

“We’re excited to add this service to our traditional offering as a way to increase our efficiency as we both broaden and deepen our client relationships,” said Redhawk Wealth Advisors CEO, Dan Hunt. Hunt suggested that clients increasingly expect both online technology and a “personal touch” when it comes to helping them manage their investments.
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Simon Roy, Jemstep president, also underscored the way the technology will help advisors better engage their clients. “Our embedded communications platform keeps advisors informed about their client’s use of the service, and helps them reach out to qualitified prospects more efficiently.”
Redhawk Online Advisor integrates seamlessly with Redhawk’s current services for investors. The technology aggregates client accounts, making it easier for advisors to provide better, more “holistic and unbiased guidance” in the words of Redhawk advisor, Michelle Bertram, and provides actionable advice to help clients reach their financial goals.
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(Above: L-R. Kevin Cimring, CEO,  Matthew Rennie, CTO)
In addition to frequent coverage in both financial and mainstream media, Jemstep launched its Advisor Pro solution in November. The company followed that up with an announcement that it had become a partner on TD Ameritrade’s account management and trading platform, Veo.
With more than 10,000 users, Jemstep is headquartered in Los Altos, California, and was founded in 2008. The company demoed its Portfolio Manager solution at FinovateSpring 2013.

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Alumni News– December 23, 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CashStar, Continuity Control, EVRY, Green Dot, Heckyl Technologies, Jemstep, Jwaala, Kashoo, Klarna, Larky, Lending Club, On Deck Capital, Silanis Technology, Sonavation, TradeKing, Xignite

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  • The Tech Bulletin profiles Heckyl Technologies.
  • Sonavation announces acquisition of assets of Arkami.
  • Chelsea State Bank launches Larky-powered mobile app.
  • EVRY announces a four-bank, $160 million payments partnership.
  • Kashoo unveils version 4.1 of its cloud accounting and bookkeeping app for iOS. 
  • Walmart to distribute GreenDot prepaid products in 2015.
  • BMO Financial Group’s deployment of Xignite Enterprise wins American Financial Technology Award.
  • IT Qlick takes a look at Jwaala Personal Financial Manager and roomMaster.
  • CashStar teams up with Spafinder Wellness.
  • NY Times DealBook looks at disruptive startups in fintech including Lending Club, On Deck, and TradeKing.
  • Forbes.com column on how companies stand out from the crowd features Silanis Technology.
  • Jemstep to power Redhawk Online Advisor.
  • Continuity Control taps Peter Rawlinson as Chief Marketing Officer.
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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Chelsea State Bank Launches Larky-Powered Mobile App

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Larky

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Chelsea State Bank has announced that it will deploy a new mobile app, courtesy of a partnership with loyalty/rewards specialist, Larky.

The new app is called The Local Edge. Bank customers who use the app will be able to see and search through discounts available to them from more than 2,000 organizations, entertainment venues, and other community businesses, including Chelsea State Bank.

Andrew Bank, co-founder of Larky, said, “Larky is lucky to work with savvy financial institution partners who believe in creating unique customer experiences and touching their customers through(out) their lives, not just when they’re banking.”
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Larky specializes in helping banks and credit unions provide better rewards and loyalty programs for their customers. Larky’s mobile + web platform enables financial institutions to provide point-of-sale discounts and helps local and national businesses, to send branded, location-based alerts to smart devices, and save users as much as $1,000 a year.
Larky has 12 employees and has raised more than $2 million in funding. We last reported on the company as part of our fall Money 20/20 coverage, noting six new financial institution clients Larky signed up in the fall.
For more insights on Larky implementations, checkout this conversation between Larky’s Bank and Rebekah Monroe, marketing manager for Christian Financial Credit Union. CFCU launched a branded version of Larky’s mobile disc out platform called “Community CA$H” in November.
Founded in 2012 and based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Larky made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall. See a video of the company’s demonstration of its new Android app.

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EVRY Announces Four-Bank, $160 Million Payments Partnership

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: EVRY

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Five years. Four banks. And one very big deal for EVRY.

In an agreement announced today, EVRY will provide payment and core banking services for four Norwegian banks: Sparebanken Sør, Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane, Helgeland Sparebank and Gjensidige Bank. The five-year partnership is valued at NOK 1.2 billion, or more than $160 million USD.

According to EVRY CEO Terje Mjøs, the deal is a culmination of the work his company has done with these banks for years. “This is an important milestone in our strategic investment in developing and delivering next generation core banking and payment solutions,” he said.
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Added Geir Bergskaug, Sparebanken Sør CEO, “Investing in next generation core banking and payment services is an important strategic step. The contract will ensure that we have a flexible and cost-effective infrastructure, which will also mean we can take new services to the market more quickly.”
One of the largest IT companies in the Nordic region, EVRY provides IT services for more than 14,000 private and public customers, reaching more than 4 million in the Nordics. Earlier this year, the company signed payment deals with two other Norwegian banks – SpareBank 1 Alliance and Sparebanken Vest – part of an aggressive push to expand its presence in the region.
EVRY will make its Finovate debut in next February at FinovateEurope. For more information about the upcoming conference in London, check out our FinovateEurope 2015 page.

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Alumni News– December 22, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Arroweye Solutions, Bluefin Payment Systems, Digital Retail Apps, Feedzai, FutureAdvisor, iQuantifi, Kensho, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, Strands, Tuition.io, Wealthfront
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgDeutsche Bank launches FinanzPlaner powered by Strands PFM. Check out Strands’ newest tech at FinovateEurope.
  • Arroweye Solutions increases its payment card security.
  • SF Gate considers how Personal Capital brings a human touch to robo-advising.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems partners with 3Delta Systems to provide Bluefin’s Decryptx Point-to-Point Encryption Solution to 3Delta clients.
  • Financial Post takes a look at how innovations like SelfPay from Digital Retail Apps are helping small businesses.
  • Feedzai wins Silver Stevie Award in Most Innovative Company of the Year category in the 12th Annual American Business Awards.
  • FTSE Global Markets looks at how Kensho, Motif Investing, FutureAdvisor, and Wealthfront are leveraging big data and big computing.
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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Qapital Raises $1.3 Million in Seed Round Led by Northzone

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Qapital

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In a round led by venture capital firm Northzone, Swedish personal finance management innovator Qapital has raised $1.3 million in seed financing. The investment will help the company grow its team as well as prepare its technology for launch in the U.S.

Pär-Jörgen Pärson, partner at Northzone and an early investor in and board member of Spotify, called Qapital “the way an everyday banking service should work.” Added George Friedman, Qapital CEO and co-founder, “Once they use it, I think people will start realizing that managing money isn’t boring.”

“Spending and saving smart should be easy and sometimes even fun.” 
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Currently in private beta, Qapital’s PFM technology combines personal finance management with features like safe balance and a “rule-based” savings and goals planner in a single application. State of the art account aggregation powered by Social Money means that transactional data from linked accounts is transferred and available to see in real-time, which helps “connect everyday savings with everyday results.”
“To save money, you have to make a good trade between now and later, and that’s pretty difficult and abstract,” Friedman said from the Finovate stage this spring. “The real key to our product is that we actually help you change your behavior and save in ways you’ve never done before.”
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Qapital encourages users to focus on specific goals, and uses a rule-based savings approach to accomplish this. For example, one rule may say that every time you buy a product from the local pastry shop – or every time you go the gym to workout – you set aside $10 toward one of your pre-set goals.
And while people think about saving this way all the time, Qapital’s account aggregation makes this savings happen automatically between linked accounts. No worry having to remember to transfer the money in your banking app, or to stash dollar bills in an envelope. As soon as you do the transaction, the savings are allocated to the appropriate goal.
Based in Stockholm Sweden and founded in September 2012, Qapital demonstrated its iPhone app at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose. Learn more about the company from our Behind the Scenes feature published this earlier this year.

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Alumni News– December 19, 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ayondo, Betterment, BrightScope, CardFlight, CREALOGIX, Financial Guard, FutureAdvisor, Holvi, IntelliResponse, Jemstep, Klarna, Loop, Meniga, Open Bank Project, peerTransfer, Personal Capital, SigFig, TradeKing, TransferWise, True Potential, Wallaby Financial, Wealthfront, Xero
  • 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.jpgMoney Facts looks at how TransferWise helps consumers save on money transfer fees.
  • Huffington Post features Matthew Goldman of Wallaby Financial in a conversation on credit card strategies for travelers.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews LoopPay Chief Technologist George Wallner.
  • A comparison between Stockholm and Silicon Valley in The Independent highlights Klarna.
  • Virtual Agent Chat checks in on post-acquisition IntelliResponse.
  • Cardflight’s SwipeSimple joins MasterCard mPOS providers.
  • News.com.au reports: How Xero went from a scribbled figure on a serviette to a $2 billion company.
  • Crealogix and Meniga create Digital Bank and PFM Solution for BNP’s Consors Bank.
  • peerTransfer named 2014 Winner of BostInno’s 50 on Fire Award.
  • Forbes lists Holvi as 1 of 5 Finnish startups to watch.
  • Programmable Web considers how Open Bank Project’s API brings more openness to banking internationally.
  • Ayondo launches ad campaign on 2 major German TV networks.
  • Business Insider features Betterment, Financial Guard, FutureAdvisor, Jemstep, Personal Capital, SigFig, TradeKing, and Wealthfront in a look at the growth of robo-advisors.
  • BrightScope releases its Top 30 401(k) Plans List.
  • Management Today profiles David Harrison, managing partner at True Potential.
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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Fintech Fundings: 14 Companies Raise $1 Billion Week Ending Dec. 12

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

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Buoyed by the $865 million raised in Lending Club’s blockbuster IPO, fintech companies raised $1 billion last week. That was the largest amount since we began tracking in August. Granted, without the IPO, it was a more “normal” $135 million week.
Finovate alums accounted for all but $35 million of the total with Dynamics ($70 million), eToro ($27 million) and BehavioSec ($6 mil) joining Lending Club ($865).
Here are the deals from Dec. 6 to Dec 12: 

Lending Club
Consumers loan marketplace
Latest round: $865 million (IPO)
Total raised: $1.25 billion (includes $50 million debt)
Tags: Lending, P2P, person-to-person, loans, credit, investing, San Francisco, California, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Dynamics
Interactive plastic for credit & debit cards
Latest round: $70 million
Total raised: $110 million
Tags: Credit/debit cards, plastic, EMV, MasterCard (investor), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

eToro
FX social trading platform
Latest round: $27 million
Total raised: $61 million
Tags: Investing, FX, mirror trading, Cyprus, Finovate alum
Source:Finovate

Insikt
Consumer loan marketplace
Latest round: $16 million
Total raised: $100+ million
Tags: Lending, direct, credit, underwriting, P2P, investing, San Francisco, California
Source: Finovate

BitReserve
Securing digital money
Latest round: $12.5 million
Total raised: $12.5+ million
Tags: Bitcoin, cryptocurrency security, San Francisco, California
Source: Crunchbase

BehavioSec
Biometric security 
Latest round: $6 million
Total raised: $8 million
Tags: Security, biometrics, Luea, Sweden, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Quoine
Japanese Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: $2 million
Total raised: $2 million
Tags: Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, exchange, Japan
Source: Crunchbase

WagePoint
Online payroll solutions
Latest round: $2 million
Total raised: $2 million
Tags: SMB, accounting, billing, Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
Source: Crunchbase

iFunding
Real estate investing marketplace 
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $1 million
Tags: Real estate, peer-to-peer lending, P2P, crowdfunding, investing, New York City
Source: Crunchbase

Financial Diligence Networks
Hedge fund compliance 
Latest round: $420,000
Total raised: $420,000
Tags: Investing, hedge funds, compliance, regulation, Boston, Massachusetts
Source: Crunchbase

Page365
Invoice & billing services
Latest round: $420,000
Total raised: $420,000
Tags: Bangkok, Thailand
Source: FT Partners

WealthMinder
Retail investment management 
Latest round: $250,000
Total raised: $250,000
Tags: Investing, advising, wealth management, Reston, Virginia
Source: Crunchbase

Avra
Bitcoin technologies & payments
Latest round: $150,000
Total raised: $150,000
Tags: Cryptocurrency, SMB, merchants, payments, Palo Alto, California
Source: Crunchbase

Tappr
Mobile payments & POS solutions
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Payments, mobile, SMB, merchants, acquiring, Brisbane, Australia
Source: Crunchbase

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Finovate Alums Fill Ranks of KPMG’s Fintech Innovators for 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Betterment, Coinbase, Credit Karma, CUneXus, Dwolla, eToro, FutureAdvisor, Kabbage, Klarna, Kreditech, LearnVest, Lending Club, MiiCard, Motif Investing, Nutmeg, On Deck Capital, PayNearMe, Personal Capital, Prosper, SecureKey, SigFig, SocietyOne, Stockpile, SumUp, The Receivables Exchange, TransferWise, Wealthfront, Xero, Yodlee, Zopa

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Draw up a list of the top fintech innovators of 2014. Got it? Now tell me how many of your top 50 companies are not just impressive companies in their respective fields, but Finovate alums, as well.

If you are global accounting and consulting group, KPMG, then the answer is “more than half.”

Of the 50 companies recognized by KPMG in its 2014 review of top fintech innovators, 27 have demoed their technologies at Finovate conferences. And of that 27, 13 have won Best of Show at least once.
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The inaugural “50 Best Fintech Innovators” report is a joint venture between AWI Ventures KPMG Australia and the Financial Services Council (FSC). 
The companies chosen were selected based on four factors: total capital raised, rate of capital raising, degree of sub industry disruption, and “degree of product, service, customer experience and business model innovation.” 
Writing in an introduction to the report, AWI Limited CEO Ben Heap explained why fundraising played such a prominent part of the selection process.
“These assessment criteria reflect the fact that venture capital invested is a relevant measure of innovation which in turn fuels enduring competitive advantage,” he wrote. 
“Venture capitalists seek this enduring competitive advantage over and above everything else.”
Here’s a breakdown of Finovate alums in the list, in order of appearance, along with links to their most recent demo video. Boldface indicates Best of Show winner.
“Ones to Watch” 
See the full list of companies here.

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Kashoo Unveils Quick Entry Accounting App for Android

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Kashoo

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You asked for it. You got it. Kashoo Accounting-Quick Entry on Android.

Kashoo announced this week that its Quick Entry app that allows users to capture receipts and invoices while on the go is now available on the Android operating system. The app syncs in real-time to make the transition from mobile app to web app seamless.

The app was built in a “companion style.” This will make it easier for Kashoo to further develop the app based on feedback from customers.
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Kashoo has more than 150,000 registered users of its cloud accounting software in more than 180 countries. The company has won accolades from the British Columbia Technology Industry Association, PC Magazine, MacWorld Business, and CPA Practice Advisor. In March, the company earned a spot on the ICT 2014 Ready to Rocket List.
Learn more about Kashoo Accounting-Quick Entry on Android. 
Founded in March 2008 and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Kashoo demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2010. Jim Secord is CEO.

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Crealogix and Meniga Create Digital Bank and PFM Solution for BNP’s Consors Bank

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Cortal Consors, CREALOGIX, Meniga

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Cortal Consors demonstrated at FinovateEurope 2011, when it was an online brokerage and investment company under BNP Paribas. It has since become Consors Bank, a German-based subsidiary bank of BNP Paribas.

Launching a bank comes with a long to-do list– one thatMenigaLogo.jpgincludes providing financial planning tools for your customers– so Consors Bank has partnered with Meniga and Crealogix. Respectively, these fintech providers power spending and saving management tools, as well as a digital banking portal.

The combined solutions offer Consors Bank customers an engaging user experience that fits with the bank’s slogan, “mobile, just like you.”

Here’s a look at some of the aspects of Meniga’s PFM on Consors Bank’s web portal:

  • Monthly spending comparison:

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  • Spending category overview:

MenigaConsorsCategoryOverview.jpgIceland-based Meniga launched in 2009 and has since brought its white-label PFM platform to 25 banks across the globe. Meniga last demonstrated at FinovateEurope 2014 and will return to London next February for FinovateEurope 2015.

Crealogix appeared on stage at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose and will also demo its new technology at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

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