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Alumni News– October 8, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on October 8, 2014
Categories: Actiance, Arroweye Solutions, Cachet Financial Solutions, Dwolla, Personal Capital, The Currency Cloud, Top Image Systems, TSYS, WePay, Xpenditure

Xpenditure brings in $1.25 million in funding.

Pymnts interviews Mike Laven, CEO of Currency Cloud.

WePay launches WePay Clear to powers payments invisibly from the backend.

TSYS upgrades CentreSuite, its online self-service solution for commercial cardholders.

LSC deploys Cachet Financial Solutions’ Select Mobile Money Platform for LSC’s CU Money prepaid card users.

Investment News features Personal Capital.

Actiance integrates with PeopleLinx to facilitate social media adoption.

Hospitality Marketing Concepts selects Arroweye Solutions to deliver personalized rewards cards and welcome kits.

FinovateFall 2014 Sets New Attendance Record of 1,500.

Top Image Systems announces relocation of TIS America’s headquarters to Plano, Texas.

In a funding round led by CME Group, Dwolla raised $9.7 million in new capital.

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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FinovateFall 2014 Sets New Attendance Record of 1,500 (Plus One Drone)

By David Penn Posted on October 7, 2014
Categories: FinovateFall 2014

With all the excitement of FinDEVr’s successful inaugural event last week, it’s all the more gratifying to remember that FinDEVr followed what was the biggest Finovate conference to date.

FinovateFall 2014 attendance was nearly 1,500, up 30% over last year. It also featured a number of other interesting milestones and famous firsts such as:

Most Devices Used in a Single Demo – 12 (MX/Money Desktop)
First Deployment of Drone Technology (Toopher)
Most “Time’s Up” Bells Rung (since 2011)

There are many ways to enjoy Finovate conferences. And for those who weren’t able to be in New York for the show in person (and for many who were), the Finovate Twitter feed at #Finovate is often the next best thing to being there.

See for yourself! And don’t forget to check out the full slate of demo videos from FinovateFall 2014 now up in our “Watch Demos” video section.

Thanks again to all those who presented, sponsored, and/or attended FinovateFall 2014. We’ll see you next year!

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Xpenditure Brings in $1.25 Million in Funding

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on October 7, 2014
Categories: Xpenditure

Xpenditure, a mobile and web-based expense management platform announced today that it raised $1.25 million in funding from existing investors.

This funding, added to Xpenditure’s initial round of $1.75 million, brings the Belgium-based company’s funding to $3 million.

It plans to use the funding to expand its operations. In fact, it recently opened an office in New York City and plans to grow its team from 15 to 25 people by the end of 2014.

When users scan their receipts into Xpenditure, the system pulls all relevant data and organizes the information in its web-based portal. Once all of the users’ expenses have been uploaded and organized, they can export expense and reimbursement reports into their ERP software or a CSV file.

Xpenditure was developed in 2011 by CardWise, a company that specializes in prepaid card products.

Check out the demo video of Cardwise’s Xpenditure at FinovateEurope 2014.

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Blockchain Raises $30 Million in Growth Capital

By David Penn Posted on October 7, 2014
Categories: Blockchain

In a massive Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Wicklow Capital, bitcoin wallet innovator Blockchain announced today that it has raised $30 million in growth capital.

The successful round comes as the company celebrates reaching 2.3 million consumers with its private, secure, and portable bitcoin wallets. Writing at the Blockchain blog, the company credits Lightspeed Venture Partners for being one of the first Silicon Valley firms to begin paying serious attention to the bitcoin phenomenon. Wicklow Capital also comes in for commendation, with Blockchain hoping to leverage Wicklow’s experience and leadership in developing “technology enabled trading and financial services”.

Blockchain also announced new additions to its board of directors, onboarding Richard Branson, Mosaic Ventures, and Prudence Holdings, among others.

Founded in 2011 by Ben Reeves as a way to study and analyze the bitcoin market, Blockchain is the maker of the first, Java-based, client side bitcoin wallet that makes it easy for individuals to store and use their bitcoins. Calling itself the “de facto search engine for the bitcoin economy,” Blockchain manages more than two million bitcoin wallets, representing more than $21 billion in total payment volume.

Reeves currently serves as Blockchain CTO, Nicholas Cary is CEO, and Peter Smith is President.

Blockchain participated in the first FinDEVr conference last week in San Francisco, where they demonstrated their core API for bitcoin development. Read more about the company’s FinDEVr presentation here.

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Expensify Announces $3.5 Million Round Led by Barracuda Networks

By David Penn Posted on October 7, 2014
Categories: Expensify

If you thought SAP’s purchase of Concur was the only thing going on in the business travel / expense management innovation space lately – guess again.

Expensify has raised $3.5 million in new capital. The funding was led by Barracuda Networks, and boosts the company’s total equity funding to more than $10 million.

Developers of “expense reports that don’t suck,” Expensify made a splash in the days before the funding news became public with an offer to honor the Concur contracts for customers who switched from the recently-acquired rival. Expensify’s SmartScan technology lets users upload receipts and import expenses to their smartphones. Users can then submit their expense reports online or from their smartphones and get reimbursed directly to their checking accounts.

Expensify has more than 300,000 companies taking advantage of their solution, and more than 1.4 million users. The company processes more than $2 million in expense reports daily.

Expensify announced its integration with the Uber API to launch SmartRides back in August, grew from 24 employees to 45 from January to July, and was profiled recently by Forbes.com in a column on the “new sharing economy.”

Based in San Francisco, California, Expensify was founded in 2008 by CEO David Barrett. See a video of the company’s FinovateSpring 2013 appearance.

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FinovateFall 2014 Demo Videos Are Ready for Your Viewing Pleasure

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on October 7, 2014
Categories: FinovateFall 2014

If you were stuck in the office, scanning the Twitter feed while your colleagues attended FinovateFall a couple of weeks ago, we have good news! You can watch all of the action, as recorded live from the stage, in the FinovateFall demo videos we’ve released today.

Check out the FinovateFall 2014 demo videos here.

The 70 presenting companies showed off their newest technology, much of which is the result of years of hard work, in front of the record-breaking crowd of 1500 people.

To get started, feel free to watch the Best of Show winners:

AnchorID

blooom

CrowdFlower

LOYAL3

MX (formerly MoneyDesktop)

Nice

Toopher

Also, don’t forget to check out our Flickr feed that showcases photos from the demos, networking, and everything in between.

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Credit Karma Announces Equity Investment of $75 Million; $1 Billion Valuation

By David Penn Posted on October 7, 2014
Categories: Credit Karma

Few things say “growth round” like a capital infusion of $75 million.

The latest investment in Credit Karma (FinovateStartup 2009) comes courtesy of a trio of current investors: Google Capital, Susquehanna Growth Equity, and Tiger Global Management. 2014 has been a good year for raising capital for Credit Karma, having raised $85 million in the spring.

The company’s total capital raised now stands at more than $193 million.

Founder and CEO Ken Linn pointed two two factors that investors continue to find appealing about the company. One is the conviction that Credit Karma is category leader in consumer credit and finance. Two is continued strong demand for Credit Karma’s solutions.

To this last point, Credit Karma says it has experienced a 50% increase in users since February, with more than 30 million consumers now taking advantage of the technology.

“Today’s complex marketplace requires a pro-consumer resource that makes financial comprehension easy, transparent, and empowering,” Lin said. “Credit Karma delivers that.”

The company plans to use the new capital to fuel growth initiatives and continue product innovation.

In other good news for Credit Karma, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is now worth more than $1 billion. The Journal quoted Lin referring to Credit Karma as the “Expedia for financial services products.”

Credit Karma was founded in 2008, and is based in San Francisco. The company made headlines this summer when it announced that it would provide free, weekly credit reports.

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Alumni News– October 7, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on October 7, 2014
Categories: BehavioSec, Blockchain, Boku, Credit Karma, Expensify, FutureAdvisor, InComm, Matchi, Spreedly, TIBCO Software, Tradeshift, WallStreetSurvivor, Wonga

Matchi opens global fintech challenge

New Frontier Group to integrate BehavioSec’s behavioral authentication solution in online banking.

Boku acquires competitor Mopay, now covers 5 billion users.

BBC: Wonga to write off £220m of debts for 330,000 customers.

Financial Planning features FutureAdvisor.

Tradeshift announces new operations in Japan and Europe, new executive appointments.

Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) partners with InComm to leverage its POS integrations.

WallStreetSurvivor.com launches Financial Education Courses.

Vista Equity Partners to take Tibco Software private for about $4.3 billion.

Expensify announces $3.5 million round led by Barracuda Networks.

Blockchain raises $30 million in growth capital.

Credit Karma announces equity investment of $75 million; $1 billion valuation.

Spreedly announces new investment; raises $750,000 in equity financing.

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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FinovateFall 2014 in the Press

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on October 6, 2014
Categories: FinovateFall 2014

After FinovateFall late last month, we’ve been monitoring the press and have seen some great coverage.

While the record-breaking crowd travelled back to their offices, the journalists and industry analysts were heads down at their computers, covering the recently unveiled product launches and new technology. Thanks to everyone who covered this event!

We’ll be updating this post as additional press coverage rolls in over the next few weeks.

Here is the press coverage:

ABA Banking Journal

Developers set strong presence at FinovateFall

by John Ginovsky

Link

Finovate, the place to get noticed

by John Ginovsky

Link

FinovateFall’s “Best in Show” selections

by John Ginovsky

Link

Fintech future featured at NY event

by John Ginovsky

Link

Investing, PFM innovations predominate FinovateFall

by John Ginovsky

Link

New payment solutions debut at Finovate

by John Ginovsky

Link

Security solutions locked in at FinovateFall

by John Ginovsky

Link

Aite Group

FinovateFall Recap: New Digital Advisors Make Their Debut

by Sophie Louvel Schmitt