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Alumni News– August 7, 2014

By David Penn Posted on August 7, 2014
Categories: Blackhawk Network, Green Dot, Payoneer, Spreedly, TSYS

TSYS to license payment transaction processing platform to Metrobank Card Corporation in the Philippines.

Payoneer partners with Gosocet to bring cross-border e-invoicing capabilities to Latin American businesses.

American Banker interviews Green Dot CEO, Steve Streit, on the relationship between fraud and reload cards.

PYMNTS column on what to expect in the 2nd half of 2014 features thoughts from Justin Benson, CEO of Spreedly, and Teri Llach, CMO of Blackhawk Network.

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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Alumni News– August 7, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 7, 2014
Categories: Blackhawk Network, Green Dot, Payoneer, Spreedly, TSYS

TSYS to license payment transaction processing platform to Metrobank Card Corporation in the Philippines.

Payoneer partners with Gosocet to bring cross-border e-invoicing capabilities to Latin American businesses.

American Banker interviews Green Dot CEO, Steve Streit, on the relationship between fraud and reload cards.

PYMNTS column on what to expect in the 2nd half of 2014 features thoughts from Justin Benson, CEO of Spreedly, and Teri Llach, CMO of Blackhawk Network.

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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Alumni News– August 6, 2014

By David Penn Posted on August 6, 2014
Categories: Betterment, Feedzai, FutureAdvisor, Insuritas, Kapitall, Kreditech, LearnVest, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, Prosper, Radius, Ripple, SigFig, TradeKing, Wealthfront

Yahoo! Germany looks at financial innovation in Kreditech.

Prosper earns a spot on the 2014 AlwaysOn Global 250 Top Private Companies roster.

Feedzai launches anti-fraud, transaction scoring apps for Shopify and Big Commerce.

Forbes.com features Betterment, FutureAdvisor, Kapitall, LearnVest, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, SigFig, and Wealthfront in a discussion on Millennial generation investment habits.

Radius unveils its new website.

Richard Hagen, CEO of TradeKing Advisors, named to WealthManagement.com’s “Ten to Watch in 2015”.

Insuritas announces partnership with Financial Partners CU to open and manage its turnkey insurance solution.

Bank Innovation highlights alums SigFig and Ripple in a discussion on “8 under the radar fintech startups you should know.”

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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Alumni News– August 6, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 6, 2014
Categories: Betterment, Feedzai, FutureAdvisor, Insuritas, Kapitall, Kreditech, LearnVest, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, Prosper, Radius, Ripple, SigFig, TradeKing, Wealthfront

Yahoo! Germany looks at financial innovation in Kreditech.

Prosper earns a spot on the 2014 AlwaysOn Global 250 Top Private Companies roster.

Feedzai launches anti-fraud, transaction scoring apps for Shopify and Big Commerce.

Forbes.com features Betterment, FutureAdvisor, Kapitall, LearnVest, Motif Investing, Personal Capital, SigFig, and Wealthfront in a discussion on Millennial generation investment habits.

Radius unveils its new website.

Richard Hagen, CEO of TradeKing Advisors, named to WealthManagement.com’s “Ten to Watch in 2015”.

Insuritas announces partnership with Financial Partners CU to open and manage its turnkey insurance solution.

Bank Innovation highlights alums SigFig and Ripple in a discussion on “8 under the radar fintech startups you should know.”

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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The Surprising Banking Giant Behind New Savings Site Sumday

By Jim Bruene Posted on August 5, 2014
Categories: Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs, Investment Products

BNY’s Sumday.com homepage

Last week, the Internet discovered an interesting new savings site called Sumday (note 1). It has responsive design, a cute intro video, and social media integration. But it also has something that few trendy fintech plays have, a $230 billion dollar parent, BNY Mellon.

I’ve published something like 2 million words about retail banking and technology and this may be the first time “BNY Mellon” (or Bank of New York) has appeared. Not because they aren’t a good company, but its specialities, corporate banking and uber-wealth management, rarely fit our editorial coverage.

But surprisingly, BNY is bankrolling Sumday, a site encouraging beginners to start investing with “as little as $1.00.” That’s about 6 zeros to the left of the decimal point from where the typical BNY Mellon client usually starts with. All money collected through Sumday is invested in the Dreyfus Basic S&P 500 Stock Index Fund, according to the prospectus accessible in the fine print (the fund is low-cost index offering charging just 20 basis points annually in fees).

One distinguishing feature of the service, you can automatically add a preset amount of cash whenever you use hashtag #sumday on a tweet. That’s a novel feature, but it’s unlikely to get much usage (e.g. most people don’t want to use precious characters to add a misspelled hashtag to their snarky missives). Still, it’s a nice addition to a platform clearly targeting youth.

Other than that, there is little detail spelled out on the site. It is in closed beta and soliciting email addresses for the waiting list.

Apparently the project is a collaboration with IBM given that the only person on the LinkedIn listing provided by Sumday is a consultant with IBM Interactive Labs.

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Feedzai Launches Anti-Fraud, Transaction Scoring Apps for Shopify and Big Commerce

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 5, 2014
Categories: Feedzai

San Mateo-based anti-fraud specialist Feedzai announced this morning that they were unveiling apps for two major commerce platforms: Shopify and Big Commerce.

Nuno Sebastiao, CEO of Feedzai, said:

“Fraud is crossing channels where data breached from stores is then used to exploit commerce channels and vice versa. We see that 68 percent of cross-channel fraud starts online before migrating in-store. So we want to give all ecommerce retailers access to the tools necessary to help them protect their business.”

The new apps leverage Big Data and machine learning to provide fraud protection and transaction scoring for online retailers in real-time. Suspicious transactions are flagged, and merchants can use the app’s analytics to see reasons for the flat or to let the transaction proceed.

Retailers also have the ability to control which transactions are available for scrutiny, and the apps also come with a list of anti-fraud criteria (“human-friendly reasons to block or allow a transaction”) geared toward helping merchants decide which level of security is appropriate for their market and customers.

Features of the new apps include:

Behavioral analysis
IP geo-location
Device ID recognition
Disposable emails

The new apps will also have a simple user interface that evaluates each order, street-level maps to help locate IP addresses, and transaction summary reports available via email. Developers and those interested in taking a look under the hood can visit Feedzai’s Developer portal here.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Feedzai has raised more than $4 million in funding and includes both SAP Ventures and Data Collective among its investors. Feedzai operates in Europe, North and South America, Europe, and Africa. The company demoed its Fraud Prevention technology as part of FinovateEurope 2014 in London. See the company on stage here.

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Alumni News– August 5, 2014

By David Penn Posted on August 5, 2014
Categories: BBVA Compass, Betterment, BillGuard, Blackhawk Network, FIS, FutureAdvisor, MasterCard, Oink, Wealthfront, Xero, Zenmonics

MasterCard’s Ajay Banga sees MasterPass in 14 markets by year’s end.

Fox Business interviews BillGuard founder and CEO Yaron Samid live from Tel Aviv.

BBVA Compass and Zenmonics to design and test a tablet-based sales app. See Zenmonics at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

Thailand’s Kasikornbank selects core banking technology from FIS.

Los Angeles Times Business section features Oink.

Financial Samurai reviews FutureAdvisor, comparing the company to Wealthfront and Betterment.

MarketInvoice partners with Xero to speed financing for small businesses.

Blackhawk Network to bring eGift options to Barclays’ Pingit mobile banking platform.

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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MasterCard’s Ajay Banga Sees MasterPass in 14 Markets By Year’s End

By David Penn Posted on August 4, 2014
Categories: MasterCard

With the news media focused on the potential impact of an Apple entering the mobile payments space, it’s worth remembering that there are already sizable technology companies with mobile payments innovations already in the field.

MasterCard, which announced earnings this week, may be an obvious example. But for anyone who needed reminding, the fact that MasterPass, the company’s mobile payment platform, earned such high marks from CEO Ajay Banga, should help.

Here are a few choice notes and quotes from the earnings call that highlight MasterCard’s success and strategies for MasterPass.

First, MasterPass was launched in three new markets in the second quarter of 2014: Singapore, Poland, and South Africa. That puts the total number of markets at 10, with another four planned by the end of the year.

In the company’s earnings call, Ajay highlighted the technology as playing an important role in the overall consumer experience. “MasterPass is more than a wallet,” he said. Instead, think of the solution as:

“A platform which provides a safe and secure foundation to support multi-channel shopping … and create innovative tools … to enhance the consumer buying experience before, during, and after the actual purchase.”

Making MasterPass a technology that plays well with others is a major goal. MasterCard launched its in-app payment feature in the previous quarter. It can now count Starbucks in Australia and Major League Baseball among the major marketing entities that have committed to deploy MasterPass in their own branded apps.

Going forward, the goal is to have MasterPass up and running in markets that represent 75% of the company’s total credit card volume over the next two years. MasterCard already sees itself as significantly ahead of the game compared to its rivals (“We’re in 10 countries, already,” repeated Ajay during the conference call’s Q&A. “That’s way more than anybody else is in.”)

The clue to how MasterCard might succeed where others have failed may be found in a profile of the company’s CEO recently published in Fortune.com. Quoted in the feature by Daniel Roberts, former MasterCard emerging payments specialist Ed Olebe pointed to the company’s “basic capability in the physical world and some capability in the digital world” as a major advantage as a player in the digital payments world.

“The players who can handle the digital challenges and the security challenges, and keep a presence in the physical world, will win,” Ed said. “And that’s MasterCard.”

MasterCard, via its MasterCard Developer Zone, is a Platinum Sponsor of FinDEVr, the first event for fintech developers. To find out more about the inaugural FinDEVr conference in San Francisco, October 1 and 2, visit our FinDEVr page here.

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Alumni News– August 4, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 4, 2014
Categories: Allied Payment Network, Credit Karma, EZBOB, Intuit, MaxMyInterest, Oink, True Office

Oink adds payment solutions provider Merchant e-Solutions to its Channel Partner program.

American Banker takes a look at Credit Karma’s plan to provide free, weekly credit reports to its 25+ million members.

Allied Payment Network announces 99.2% read success rate when processing payments via PicturePay.

Intuit to acquire tax filing software startup, KDK Software.

MorningStar’s Christine Benz interviews MaxMyInterest founder, Gary Zimmerman. See MaxMyInterest at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

EZBOB reports boost in client volume.

Wall Street & Technology talks gamification and compliance training with True Office.

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: 75 Companies Raise $900 Million in July 2014

By Jim Bruene Posted on August 2, 2014
Categories: Uncategorized

According to FT Partners, fintech companies raised $903 million in July 2014, $678 million in equity and $225 million in debt. Only the fundings during the last week of July are listed below (in alphabetic order). For all 75 deals in July, see the FT Partners database.

Active Hours
Alternative lender for short-term loans
Latest round: $4.1 million
Total raised: $4.1 million
Tags: Lending, credit, underbanked, unbanked, loans, Palo Alto, California
Source: FT Partners

AvantCredit
Online alt-lender
Latest round: $300 million ($75 million equity, $225 million debt)
Total raised: $554 million ($329 million equity, $225 million debt)
Tags: Lending, underwriting, personal loan, SMB, Chicago, Illinois
Source: FT Partners

BeanStalk
Online tax prep
Latest round: $2 million
Total raised: $2 million
Tags: Tax preparation, fee-based services, OnSwipe (acquired), Salt Lake City, Utah
Source: FT Partners

Exchange Corporation
Japanese consumer loan marketplace lender
Latest round: $3.3 million
Total raised: $3.3 million
Tags: Lending, credit, consumer loans, P2P, person-to-person, crowdfunding,Tokyo, Japan
Source: FT Partners

FreshBooks
Cloud accounting
Latest round: $30 million
Total raised: $30 million
Tags: Accounting, money management, SMB, invoicing, bill payment, Toronto, Canada
Source: FT Partners

Privio
Online marketplace for private mortgage loans
Latest round: $3.8 million
Total raised: $5.9 million
Tags: Mortgage, lending, underwriting, alt-lending, California
Source: FT Partners

Rong360
Chinese lending search engine
Latest round: $60 million
Total raised: $60 million
Tags: Lending, personal loans, lead generation, Bejing, China
Source: FT Partners

Thinknum
Analytics for loan underwriting & investments
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $1 million
Tags: Analytics, enterprise, underwriting, investing, financial analysts, New York City, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

TipRanks
Investment analyst ratings
Latest round: $3 million
Total raised: $3.7 million
Tags: Investing, analytics, Tel Aviv, Israel, Best of Show Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Volabit
Bitcoin exchange platform
Latest round: $250,000
Total raised: $250,000
Tags: Cryptocurrency, San Mateo, California
Source: FT Partners

Wonder Technology
eGiftcard provider
Latest round: $800,000
Total raised: $800,000
Tags: Giftcards, prepaid, merchants, SMB, Burlingame, California
Source: FT Partners

ZipZap
Enables merchants to accept cash for online purchases
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $2.7 million
Tags: Merchants, acquiring, POS, payments, underbanked, SMB, Yorba Linda, California
Source: FT Partners

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Alumni News– August 1, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 1, 2014
Categories: Cachet Financial Solutions, defi Solutions, Expensify, Patch of Land, PlayMoolah, Xero, ZipZap

Startup Daily: Startups leverage Xero’s API as part of their growth hacking strategy. Check out Xero’s API up close at FinDEVr in San Francisco September 30 – October 1.

Expensify grows from 24 employees in January to 45 employees in July.

Cachet Financial Solutions receives allowance for patent that covers aspects of its RDC platform to deposit bank checks using their Apple desktop, laptop or mobile device.

PlayMoolah’s WhyMoolah launches Act 2 to enable gamers who completed Act 1 to play out their lives from age 35 to 55.

ZipZap raises $1.1 million in new funding.

Your Mark on the World interviews AdaPia d’Errico, Chief Marketing Officer for Patch of Land. See Patch of Land demo at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

defi Solutions CEO Stephanie Alsbrooks talks loan origination in Non-Prime Times.

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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2015 Digital Banking Strategic Planning (Part 1)

By Jim Bruene Posted on July 31, 2014
Categories: Fee Income, Insurance, Planning, Strategic Planning

I was on a call today with the digital strategy committee of a large U.S. bank. It was clear from their line of questioning that they are grappling with how to prioritize among the many major opportunities on the digital side.

I won’t list any of the specific topics here, but you could guess most of them (though one would surprise you I think). But the conversation got me thinking about what I’d recommend for next year if I was working in a bank, credit union or consumer fintech company.

In semi-prioritized fashion, here are my first three recommendations for 2015. More will follow.

_______________________________________

1. Insurance
_______________________________________

How are you going to replace NSF fee income once the CFPB gets around to capping it? (Timing hint: There’s a big election in 27 months.) One place to look: Insurance. It’s one of the last frontiers for retail banks, especially in the United States. FinovateSpring 2014 alum Insuritas (demo here) says it can launch your very own insurance store within 90 days. So if you move fast enough, you could have this running by end of year.

______________________________________

2. Lifetime transaction archives
__________________________________

I believe digital services will increase bank loyalty two or three-fold. So instead of accounts turning over every 7 years or so, it will be 15 or 20 years for digital-first households. Why? Once banks come to their senses and start archiving all your transactions like Google does for email, it will be much more of a pain to move.

________________________________________

3. Subscription fees
___________________________________

Back to the Gmail example. How much could Google charge me now that I have 100,000 messages archived there? $100/year easy. Probably more. Banks should be thinking the same way. Get #2 done, then charge $4.95/mo for a Peace of Mind package that includes lifetime archives, mobile document/receipt capture, priority customer service, and so on.

To be continued………..

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