Weathfront Raises $35 Million in Round Led by Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital

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Investment management service Wealthfront will have some investment management of its own to do in the coming weeks and months: the company just reported that it has raised $35 million in new capital.

The funding round was led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, and included the participation of existing investors such as The Social+Capital Partnership, Greylock Partners, and DAG Ventures.

Wealthfront’s total funding now stands at $65 million.

Wealthfront is one of the largest automated investment management services in the world. In a market crowded with competitors, Wealthfront continues to see a bright future in automated investing thanks to the 90 million person, $2 trillion dollar millennial generation.
Said the company in a statement: “(Millennials) have grown up with software and lived through two market crashes. They overwhelmingly seek an investment solution that is automated, index-based, and low-cost.”
A few metrics from Wealthfront:
  • Growth of more than 700% since the beginning of 2013
  • Manages more than $500 million in customer accounts
  • Client accounts range from $5,000 to $10,000,000
  • More than 55% of the company’s users are below the age of 35
We last reported on Wealthfront when the company launched its new mobile app back in February. The mobile app lets users check account balances, view investment performance, and transfer funds to Wealthfront accounts.
Wealthfront (as “kaChing”) demoed on the Finovate stage as part of Finovate Startup in 2009. Former COO Adam Nash was promoted to chief executive officer in January 2014.

Finovate Alumni News– April 3, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTop Image Systems wins awards for innovations in crowdsourcing and mobile imaging.
  • Insuritas E-InsuranceAISLE Platform generated more than 2 million product impressions in March. The technology is deployed in more than 50 banks and credit unions, supporting more than $1.5 million in product sales. See them demo at FinvoateSpring.
  • Misys trade and supply chain finance processing platform embraced by National Australia Bank (NAB).
  • Nostrum Group announces opening of new office in London.
  • Kantox integrates AU10TIX B.O.S solution to auto-classify, authenticate and extract data from of images of customers ID documents.
  • Compliance Week looks at how Actiance helps banks stay compliant with social media.
  • The Australian looks at PayPal’s Braintree.
  • BancVue launches new youth spending app, PiggyBot.
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.

Finovate Alums Raise $600 Million in First Quarter of 2014

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Want some context on the torrid pace of fintech financing in the first three months of 2014?

Consider this: a year ago, fourteen Finovate alums raised a total of more than $150 million in the first quarter of 2013.

A year later, we have just nine alums raising more than twice as much in the month of March alone.

March Madness, indeed.
Q1 of 2014 saw 23 Finovate alums walk away with just under $600 million in capital. The biggest haul of the quarter came courtesy of Klarna, which raised more than $125 million. 
But there were plenty of similarly impressive fundraisings, including the $85 million raised by Credit Karma, and the $77 million and $75 million secured by OnDeck and Tradeshift, respectively.
Total raised = More than $592 million
January — $91 million raised by seven companies
February — $139 million raised by seven companies
March — $362 million raised by nine companies

Note: Funding prior to becoming a Finovate alum not included. Questions? Comments? Email us at David@finovate.com or Julie@finovate.com

Fintech Funding Bubble: April Fool’s Day Edition

Fintech Funding Bubble: April Fool’s Day Edition
Bubbles

Photo credit: pedrosek

To prove that last week’s post where 10 fintech fundings were announced in a single day, I submit for evidence yesterday’s April Fool’s Day activity. 

 

Seems as if companies might want to avoid announcing new fundings on April 1, but that sometimes inauspicious date didn’t faze the pace yesterday as seven fintech players revealed total equity investments of $33.5 million. Adding to that figure is $22.5 mil in debt, for a total of $56 million in new capital. 

  • $22 million to BIMA Mobile to expand its mobile micro-insurance services in developing markets. The company says it already has 7 million customers. 
  • $20 mil in post-IPO debt to Identive Group to further its identity-management platform (NASDAQ: INVE)
  • $4 mil to Citizen.VC in advance of its April launch of an AngelList-like service for funding startups (link to temporary launch page)
  • $4 mil to OpenFin to expand its financial trading platform 
  • $2.5 mil Series A for WealthForge to build out its securities-issuing platform, currently used by Realty Mogul among others
  • $2.5 million in debt to ID.me to expand its digital identity network
  • $1 mil seed-round to PayStand, a Santa Cruz-based digital POS system that accepts credit cards and Bitcoin (of course)
Again, I’m not saying this is a bubble, but it certainly is a LOT of activity. Then again, if you count insurance (not including health), the financial sector is 8.4% of U.S. GDP in 2011, up from 4% in the 1970s. And it’s ripe for improvement in many, many areas. 

Finovate Alumni News– April 2, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBottomline Technologies buys Andera for $48 million.
  • Marketing Land takes a look at Narrative Science’s free, Google Analytics app, Quill Engage.
  • Saudi Arabian Bank Albilad to deploy FIS’ card management system and switching platform.
  • TradeKing promotes Kevin Delo to Chief Information Officer.
  • Startups.co.uk interviews Tradeshift CEO, Christian Lanng.
  • Atlanta Business Chronicle looks at Pindrop Security’s growth: doubling its workforce and has quadrupled its workspace.
  • Check Point Software Technologies launches new ZoneAlarm 2015 security product line.
  • Finovate alums raise $600 million in first quarter of 2014.
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.

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 3

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This week’s sneak peek of FinovateSpring 2014 features everything from account opening to loan underwriting, and is just a small selection of items we’ll see in San Jose on April 29 and 30. Get your ticket here to satisfy your fintech hunger.

If you missed the two installments from last week, you can catch them here:


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CREALOGIX, the Swiss market leader for digital banking and e-learning platforms, presents its comprehensive digital banking suite with a seamlessly integrated e-learning management system.
Features:
    • Provides contextual compliance where needed
    • Supports client advisors and enhances quality of advice 
    • Enables effortless learning combined with rewards (gamification)
Why it’s great:
The CREALOGIX digital banking suite with integrated e-learning management system offers clear added value for both sides: banks and their clients.  
Presenters:
Geraldine Critchley, Head Product Marketing

Critchley is responsible for mastering the digital mindset of the next generation online banking and dealing with all inbound/outbound marketing activities concerning digital banking.
LinkedIn

Ivan Inderbitzin, Senior E-Learning Author
Inderbitzin writes innovative online staff trainings for financial, medical and other industries. He taught at universities in Australia and likes asking questions.
LinkedIn


D3 Banking is a single solution that delivers a LodoSoftwareD3Logo.jpg

comprehensive set of digital banking services to any digital device replacing disparate online and mobile point solutions.
Features:
    • Omnichannel – one solution for any digital channel
    • Innovative money movement – contextual user experience, least cost routing
    • Powerful customer data analytics for personalized marketing
Why it’s great:
D3 Banking is an omnichannel, data driven, digital solution that lowers cost, decreases complexity and personalizes the customer experience.  

Presenters:
Mark Vipond, CEO
Vipond has been in the FinTech industry for almost 30 years beginning his career as a systems engineer at IBM and most recently serving as president and COO of ACI Worldwide.
Kevin O’Kane, CPO
O’Kane has 25 years experience in the industry including serving as Director, Professional Services at Harland Financial Solutions.

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Endeavour and Zoot’s mobile account opening solution meets consumers’ evolving expectations and banks’ complex fraud and risk management requirements.

Features:

    • Beautiful mobile interface, intuitive customer experience
    • Secure, compliant, & robust ID verification & risk management
    • Business user web portal to manage any feature with no app-store redeployment
Why it’s great: 
Endeavour has partnered with Zoot to deliver the most sophisticated mobile account opening solution in the industry.  
Presenters:
Steven Staley
Staley is a Consulting Executive, Entrepreneur, and Business Owner with 10+ years in the banking Industry. He oversees Endeavour’s Banking Practice and Global Strategic Alliances while smiling daily.
Tom Johnson, VP of Strategic Alliances at Zoot 
With over 30 years of experience in technology, Johnson is Zoot’s “Chief Idea Guy”; responsible for developing new partnerships and solutions concepts.
LinkedIn

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Jumio is a next-generation payments and ID software-as-a-service company that utilizes proprietary computer vision technology to reduce mobile payment friction and ID fraud.

Features:
    • Turns customer’s mobile device into an ID scanner
    • Personal data is populated into forms in seconds
    • Increases your sign-up and shopping cart completion rates  
Presenters:
Michael Orlando, Chief Sales Officer
Orlando heads up Jumio’s worldwide sales and business development efforts and brings over 20 years of high-growth company experience to this role.
Anthony Lanham, Senior Vice President, Sales
Lanham started his career with Dun and Bradstreet. He spent 10 years at D&B companies in several sales and sales management roles. In 2001 while at D&B RMS he pioneered the idea of outsourced credit.

VisibleEquitySmall

Visible Equity provides innovative and easy-to-use software that helps financial institutions analyze the risks and opportunities in their lending data.

Features:
    • Uses advanced modeling to estimate race/gender
    • Calculates expected pricing, denial rates, etc. using multiple variables 
    • Provides easy to interpret indicators of likeliness of disparate impact 
Why it’s great:
It’s unlikely a financial institution ever knowingly discriminates, but now proving you are treating all borrowers fairly can be as simple as clicking a button.  

Presenters:
Matthew Court, VP of Sales & Marketing 
Court oversees all sales, marketing, and corporate communications.
David Gilbert, COO 
Gilbert is at the forefront of marketing, business development, and new product research.
LinkedIn


Stay tuned later this week when we’ll feature six more companies.

Bottomline Technologies Buys Andera for $48 Million

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Innovations in customer onboarding may be one of the less glamorous niches in financial technology. But there’s no denying the value of meeting your customers on the channel of their choice.

This is the thinking that helps explain Bottomline Technologies’ purchase of financial software-as-a-service specialist Andera.

In a deal valued at $48 million ($44.5 million in cash and just over 100,000 shares of stock valued at just over $35 per share), Bottomline sees its acquisition as a way of helping its digital banking clients “grow revenues and compete and win” in the words of Norm DeLuca, General Manager of Banking and Financial Services for Bottomline.

Of Andera’s virtues, none is more vivid than its oFlows platform, which the company purchased in 2011. The Best of Show winning technology (FinovateSpring 2010) makes customer onboarding and account opening easier for banks and credit unions whether customers are accessing their financial institution online, in-person, or through a mobile device. Most recently, the company made headlines with a software upgrade enabling mobile photo capture of data on driver’s licenses.
Andera was founded in 2000, and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. The company has helped its more than 500 banking and credit union clients process more than 4.5 million online account applications. American Banker called Andera one of its “Top 10 Tech Companies to Watch” in 2012. Charlie Kroll is founder, president, and CEO.

Finovate Alumni News– April 1, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgNBC Chicago hosts Bolstr to discuss crowdfunding and SMB growth.
  • Actiance’s Socialite gets new features for better UX on native websites & more integrations w/ CRM platforms.
  • FIS’ licensing agreement to make the Visa EMV debit solution available to all NYCE debit network participants.
  • Truphone is offering unlimited voice and SMS recording through June.
  • Misys launches new Regulatory Reporting Service to help managers and banks meet EMIR regulations.
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.

ID Analytics Launches ID Score 9.0, Partners with ThreatMetrix and Others

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Today, San Diego-based ID Analytics launched the newest version of its flagship fraud detection platform, ID Score.

This newest release improves the effectiveness of the company’s existing identity fraud detection by:

    • Providing more insight into consumer behavior
    • Uncovering the risk level of the user’s device
    • Finding associations between device usage and fraudulent occurrences

As a part of this effort, it has partnered with device authentication and intelligence providers, including ThreatMetrix, to incorporate their risk assessments into the consumer’s ID score itself.

The end result, ID Score 9.0, is a fraud assessment that is composed of both identity and fraud risk.

ID Analytics demonstrated My ID Alerts at FinovateSpring 2011 and ThreatMetrix debuted its Fraud Prevention 2.0 at FinovateStartup 2009.

Zopa Lending Reaches £500 Million Milestone

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Two months after reaching a new funding milestone, UK-based peer-to-peer lender Zopa is announcing another: the company has now lent more £500 million ($833 million) since launch in 2005.

“By cutting out the banks and offering returns of 5% … we are rewarding people for being sensible with their money,” Zopa CEO Giles Andrews said.

“Lending the next £500 million shouldn’t take another nine years as we expect to reach £1 billion lent in the next 12 months.”

This latest news from Zopa comes with a insightful set of fresh metrics:
  • Total loans: more than 90,000
  • Total active savers: 52,000
  • Total active borrowers: 70,000
  • Average loan: £5,500 ($9,170)
  • Average lender/saver age: 48
  • Smallest loan: £10 ($17)
  • Largest loan: £1.3 million ($2.2 million)
  • Three-year default rate: 0.17%
  • Total interest paid: £30 million ($50 million)
How are borrowers using their loans from Zopa? In 2013, 40% of all loans went toward auto purchases (£86 million).  Borrowing for home improvement and to pay off existing debt were also popular destination for funds borrowed via Zopa (£39 million and £36 million, respectively, or $65 million and $60 million).
The largest peer-to-peer lender in the United Kingdom, Zopa is based in London and has a staff of more than 50. Recently profiled in The Guardian, the company was voted “Most Trusted Personal Loan Provider” in the Moneywise Customer Awards for four years in a row.

Finovate Alumni News — March 31, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgThreatMetrix CTO Andreas Baumhof discusses the need for new authentication strategies for retailers.
  • NBC Chicago interviews Larry Baker, co-founder of Bolstr, on the basics of crowdfunding.
  • Trustly named to 2014 Red Herring Top 100 Europe award.
  • The Real Money Story reviews Jemstep.
  • Top Image Systems and Konica Minolta Spain partner to market eFLOW Invoice and Digital Mailroom business automation projects.
  • Upstart Business Journal looks at how developments from payment startup PayNearMe match up against big players.
  • A look at Xero’s new integration with Square.
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.

Updated: ThreatMetrix Raises $20 Million in Funding

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We’re still waiting to hear word from the company, but according to an SEC filing uncovered by Venture Beat, anti-cyberfraud specialist ThreatMetrix just raised $20 million in new funding. 

This rivals the company’s last round from two springs ago in 2012, and takes ThreatMetrix’s total capital to more than $56 million.

In an interview with CIO magazine, ThreatMetrix CEO Reed Taussig discussed how his company uses Big Data and context-based authentication to help companies move beyond VPNs, hardware tokens, and one-time passwords. Instead, ThreatMetrix technologies analyze data ranging from information about employee devices to “transactional or application context.” 

This network of data is key to ThreatMetrix’s effectiveness. Said Taussig, 
“Rather than deriving decision data from a single enterprise, ThreatMetrix customers share anonymous data globally. This increases the perspective, quality, and value of the data while driving down the cost of the  enterprise.”
2014 has been a good year for ThreatMetrix. The company won most Innovative Anti-Malware Appliances Solution and Best Product Network Access Control Solution at the 2014 Cyber Defense magazine awards. ThreatMetrix took home bronze in the 2014 Global Excellence Awards in the Most Innovative Company of the Year (Security) competition.
Founded in 2005, ThreatMetrix is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has offices in New York City, Hong Kong, Sydney, and The Netherlands.
ThreatMetrix is one of Finovate’s oldest alums, demoing their technology as part of FinovateStartup in 2009.
Update: In a piece published today at The Paypers, we get some additional information – and some interesting metrics – about ThreatMetrix.
  • The funding came as part of a Series E round
  • The round was led by Adams Street Partners
  • ThreatMetrix analyzes more than 500 million transactions daily
  • ThreatMetrix’s technology secures more than 160 million active user accounts, covering 2,500 customers, and 10,000 websites.