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Finovate Alumni News– May 15, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on May 15, 2014
Categories: Arxan Technologies, BillGuard, Fiserv

Arxan Technologies to offer all FS-ISAC & BITS members a complimentary, new iOS Mobile App Vulnerability Assessment.

Fiserv awarded patent for predictive modeling technology.

BillGuard launches on Android; unveils new data breach alert feature.

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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BillGuard Launches on Android; Unveils New Data Breach Alert Feature

By David Penn Posted on May 15, 2014
Categories: BillGuard

Who is most likely to detect card fraud? Financial institutions? Payment networks?

According to Aite Group, the answer is the cardholder. And that makes the news that BillGuard will now be available to the millions of consumers using Android smartphone and tablets all the more worthwhile.

Download BillGuard at Google Play here.

The iPhone app for BillGuard has been available for almost a year (see below). But today’s announcement comes not just with great news for Android users, but also with some pretty nifty news for BillGuard users of all types: the arrival of data breach alerts.

These personalized, individual alerts will let BillGuard customers know when a data breach has occurred at a store they have patronized. BillGuard customers are notified by way of email and push-alerts, and the technology continues monitoring afterwards, letting users know if any suspicious activity takes place on their cards.

The beta version of this technology, according to BillGuard CEO Yaron Samid, helped cardholders identify more than $1 million in fraudulent charges since the Target data breach.

A few interesting metrics about BillGuard:

More than 500,000 users of iPhone mobile app since launch in July 2013
Identified more than $60 million in suspect charges since inception
Supports more than 5,000 credit and bank accounts in the U.S. and Canada
First service to directly alert cardholders to breaches at retailers like Michaels, Neiman Marcus, and Target

BillGuard has been the recipient of high-quality press in recent weeks. The company was featured on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer in early April, and was profiled in the New York Times a few weeks afterward.

BillGuard demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2011 in New York. Founded in 2010, the company has raised $13 million in funding from investors such as Peter Thiel (Founders Fund) and Eric Schmidt (Innovation Endeavors).

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Announcing FinovateEurope 2015 (February 10-11 in London) — Buy your ticket early to save big and lock in your seat!

By Eric Mattson Posted on May 14, 2014
Categories: FinovateEurope 2015

Hot on the heels of our largest Finovate conference to date just two weeks ago in Silicon Valley, we’re excited to announce the dates for FinovateEurope 2015.

The London event will take place on February 10 & 11, 2015 at the beautifully restored Old Billingsgate Market Hall. FinovateEurope grew tremendously in 2014 with a sold-out crowd of 1,000 filling the auditorium to the brim. With the strong growth of fintech across Europe, we expect an even higher level of demand for the 2015 event and another sold-out show!

If you’d like to apply to demo your company’s newest fintech innovation at the event, please email us at [email protected] to get on the announcement list. We’ll be accepting applications starting in the mid-summer.

And,
if you’d like to attend and watch the cutting-edge of European fintech
debut via our fast-paced, demo-only format, tickets are now available at
the low pre-sale price of £895.00 (£400 off the list price) here. Tickets are limited so please lock in your seat today to guarantee your ability to attend (and these savings)!

We’ll see you in London in February (or New York in September)!

FinovateEurope 2015 is sponsored by: Life.SREDA and more to be announced

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Announcing FinovateEurope 2015 (February 10-11 in London) — Buy your ticket early to save big and lock in your seat!

By Eric Mattson Posted on May 14, 2014
Categories: Uncategorized

Hot on the heels of our largest Finovate conference ever (just two weeks ago in Silicon Valley), we’re excited to announce the dates for FinovateEurope 2015.

The London event will take place on February 10 & 11, 2015, at the beautifully restored Old Billingsgate Market Hall. FinovateEurope grew tremendously in 2014 with a sold-out crowd of 1,000 filling the auditorium. With the strong growth of fintech across Europe, we expect an even higher level of demand for the 2015 event and another sold-out show!

And, if you’d like to attend and watch the cutting-edge of European fintech
debut via our fast-paced, demo-only format, tickets are now available at
the low pre-sale price of £895.00 (£400 off the list price) here. Tickets are limited, so please lock in your reservation today to guarantee your spot (and these savings)!

We’ll see you in London in February 2015 (or New York in September)!

FinovateEurope 2015 is sponsored by: Life.SREDA and more to be announced

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BodeTree Brings in $2 Million in Series A Round

By David Penn Posted on May 14, 2014
Categories: BodeTree

The best thing about the news that BodeTree has raised $2 million in Series A funding may be the possibility that the company is not done raising money just yet.

According to reporting at TechCrunch, BodeTree CEO Christopher Myers is considering the possibility of additional funding from other investors by July. BodeTree, which made its Finovate debut in San Jose this spring, now has more than $6 million in total capital raised, with Greenline Ventures currently the company’s biggest investor.

For small businesses, BodeTree provides tools to help owners do business valuations, peer comparisons, and conduct critical business intelligence. Features include seamless integration with Xero, easy syncing with QuickBooks Online, and support for QuickBooks Desktop Interface.

All this organization serves another purpose: making it easier for potential lenders and banking partners to better understand businesses in order to provide loans and other services.

Said Christopher, “Our goal is for BodeTree to be the financial home base for what we call the Fortune 5 Million.”

BodeTree has 50,000 small business users and 13 lending partners. Recent partnerships with small business associations have helped the company expand in Arizona, Michigan, and Ohio. The additional capital will be used to fund continued growth, as well as platform improvements.

BodeTree was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. See a video of the company’s FinovateSpring 2014 demo here.

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Finovate Alumni News– May 14, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on May 14, 2014
Categories: ACI Worldwide, BodeTree, Bolstr, FinovateSpring 2014, Finovera, FutureAdvisor, LikeFolio, Loop, Manilla, Pindrop Security, Rippleshot, Saved Plus, Simple, TextPower, TIO Networks, Wallaby Financial, Wealthfront, WePay

TIO Networks partners with New Jersey’s Public Service Electric and Gas Company to set up bill payment kiosks.

Pindrop Security and AGNITiO partner to protect call centers as they adapt to an increasingly mobile customer base.

Bolstr explains the basics of crowdfunding on NBC Chicago.

Loop Wallet app now available on Android.

Maps Credit Union chooses ACI Worldwide’s online banking platform.

Javelin Strategy takes a look at bill pay alternatives to Manilla, including Finovera.

FinovateSpring 2014: Behind the Scenes with WePay, Rippleshot, and TextPower.

BodeTree brings in $2 million in Series A round.

SavedPlus, LikeFolio, Wallaby, FutureAdvisor, Simple and Wealthfront earn spots on CNN Money’s list of the 15 best financial websites and apps.

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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FinovateSpring 2014: Behind the Scenes with WePay, Rippleshot and TextPower

By David Penn Posted on May 13, 2014
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014, Rippleshot, TextPower, WePay

In today’s report, we’ll get to know three more companies that made their Finovate debuts at FinovateSpring 2014 in San Jose.

So far, our Behind the Scenes series has introduced CUneXus, ID.me, and Venovate in our first installment. Here, we’ll meet API-developer WePay, network security innovator, Rippleshot; and SMS-based omni-factor authenticator TextPower.

WePay

What they do

“We are an API company focused on platform businesses: crowd funding sites, donation platforms, marketplaces …” this is how John Canfield, WePay Vice President of Risk, describes the company. Unveiling their Veda Risk engine at FinovateSpring, WePay demonstrated how it has leveraged its basic expertise in payments to provide a flexible way to create new accounts and process payments.

WePay’s origins as a payments company give it a unique insight into the needs of the clients it serves as an API innovator. John says the opportunity to focus on user experience and turning Big Data into Big Analytics makes sense in a world in which the payments industry is increasingly commoditized. “So why not innovate on the risk side, on compliance?” he says.

Stats

Processes transactions for more than 250,000 merchants; 400 platform partners
Recorded 51% quarter-over-quarter growth from Q4 2013 to Q1 2014
Averaging 35% monthly growth in crowdfunding-specific processing
Powers eight out of the top 15 crowdfunding platforms

The experience

Wepay provided the example of a merchant who uses another Finovate alum, invoiceASAP, to bill clients. The challenge is to make it as easy as possible for the client to pay – and as quick and seamless as possible for the merchant to get paid.

With a single click, this merchant can apply to have WePay serve as her payment processor, allowing the merchant to accept, for example, a credit card payment rather than waiting for a check in the mail.

In most instances, credit card processors require merchants to fill out extended, complicated forms as part of the on-boarding process. WePay asks nothing more than the same basic credit card information typically provided in any transaction: card number, name, expiration date, CVV. But the result is a single-click process and response, rather than a days-long ordeal.

WePay’s approach results in a 95% acceptance rate for merchants. And credit for this goes to the company’s proprietary risk engine, Veda.

Veda pulls data from a variety of places: social media, other partners, and third party data sources to gain much more information about the transaction faster and easier than other processors. Veda also collects data on the payer and the merchant, including social media data (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc.), and delivers scores on both the merchant’s “quality” and the merchant’s “identity.”

“This is a very important online credential,” John says, “just like a passport or a driver’s license is an important credential for the physical world.”

What can we look forward to from WePay in the months to come? Customization in the form of better tailoring the risk experience, the user experience, so as to be the “ideal risk partner for our customers” is one goal. The company also plans to continue innovating on the risk engine itself, especially by incorporating new relevant risk data with the goal of providing a solution that fits the crowdfunding or marketplace platform perfectly. “It’s not a generic package,” says John. “everyone has something different.”

Rippleshot

What they do

Rippleshot specializes in detecting fraud and data breaches using a different focus: the merchant payment network itself. Many security solutions, says the company, are vertical and siloed. Rippleshot’s technology in contrast uses a Microsoft search engine-like technology to detect data breaches and examine patterns of behavior before merchants and credit card issuers are even aware a problem exists. While some anti-fraud measures focus on customers, their cards, their mobile devices, Rippleshot “profiles merchants.”

Add to this the fact that the technology is cloud-based, requiring no installation or exchange of personally identifiable information, and delivers the kind of analytics that, for example, help financial institutions re-issue cards smarter and faster to compromised accounts.

Stats

Detects breaches long before they become known to public
Monitors more than 16 million online and offline POS terminals and payment gateways
Cloud-based solution requires no installation within company’s IT environment and no PII (personally identifiable information) exchanged

The experience

Here is a standard scenario in the world according to Rippleshot: customers visit a compromised merchant. The fraudster who may be stealing mag stripe data at the point-of-sale, then sells the stolen card information, which will be used for fraudulent transactions far and wide.

Critically, compromised cards all will share a history of transacting with the compromised merchant. And when Rippleshot discovers a merchant with a broader than av
erage history of encountering compromised cards, there is a good chance that this merchant is the source of the breach or fraud.

Rippleshot’s technology combines Big Data, machine learning, and cutting-edge statistics to scan through hundreds of millions of card transactions to spot this kind of common history. With this method, Rippleshot says it is able to narrow down the source of the breach or fraud not just to the specific store, but the specific POS terminal, as well. Exactly when the breach occurred is also valuable security intel that Rippleshot’s analytics provides.

Above: Rippleshot dashboard

Another plus of Rippleshot’s approach to security is the way it helps card issuers deal with the challenge of reissuing cards when fraud occurs. The standard strategy is to create and distribute a sizable number of cards to compromised and noncompromised accounts alike in an attempt to almost smother the problem.

Above: Breach and fraud spend map

Rippleshot seeks to provide a smarter way of reissuing cards. Of the three main categories of cardholder – those with compromised cards and those with cards about to expire in any event – most issuers can handle internally with their own systems. Rippleshot shines in the third instance – those cards that have not yet been compromised but remain vulnerable. Here the company provides real-time, time of transaction, decline rules until issuers can provide a new card. These rules range from geography to store type to transaction type.

Above: Rippleshot Chain List

What’s next for Rippleshot? Currently able to provide merchants with card fraud alerts, the company is looking into ways to give merchants the ability to get alerts on data breaches, as well. The goal is to become increasingly proactive, something that rarely happens at the merchant level.

“Our solution is a combination of ADT + insurance,” Rippleshot CEO Canh Tran and COO Lucas Ward say, pointing to a team made up of experts in the field of analytics, UI, and fraud detection. “Many of our guys have more than 10 years experience in fighting fraud.” And from their perspective fraud and data breaches will always be more a matter of if than when.

TextPower

What they do

Could the path to superior online authentication be paved with something as simple as SMS?

Or perhaps more accurately, SMS-run backwards. The genius of TextPower’s solution lies in the way it has leveraged a fundamental understanding of how text messaging actually works on mobile devices into one of the most unique methods for ID verification in the market.

The trick, as explained below, is that the effectiveness of SMS as a authentication method depends entirely on which direction the authentication request is coming from. As CEO Scott Goldman explains, each mobile device has a built-in unique code, developed by the manufacturer. This code is used by telecommunications companies to make sure that a single mobile device is not being used for multiple accounts.

This same unique mobile device identifier, says Goldman, can tell an authenticating website or VPN whether the device seeking access is the correct one. Even if I as a fraudster have your correct credentials, if I don’t have your device also, then I don’t get access.

Stats

2012 Tech America Orange County High-Tech Awards Finalist
Info Security Products Guide 2012 Global Excellence Awards winner
2011 Government Security News Homeland Security Award winner
TextPower founded 2009; TextKey founded 2013
$525,000 in funding; 7 employees

The experience

The experience of using TextKey is in most respects similar to what users of other SMS or text-based authentication experience. By relying on behavior as common as sending a text message, TextPower believes their authentication solution is that much more likely to be adopted and readily embraced by the average person already accustomed to communicating by text messaging.

TextKey works like this: a person who has legitimate access to a TextKey-enabled website will enter their username and password. The website will then display a unique, one-time code. The person seeking access must text that code to a specific number, using the mobile device that had been pre-designated.

If the correct code is sent from the correct mobile device, then access is granted. If either is incorrect – an inaccurate code or a device that is not the designated device – then access is not granted.

At this point, other additional authentication protocols can be brought into play, ranging from challenge questions to intervention by a human agent.

Scott credits h
is company’s background as a text messaging company for the ability to see security differently. He and his team may have an inside track on understanding how the actual mechanics of text messaging work – and could be made to work. But they are also passionate about the point that it is not enough for security to be “easy” – it has to be no different from everyday activities. Scott says, “in the battle between security and convenience, convenience always wins.”

To get a sense of TextPower’s future with TextKey, consider the potential implementations of the technology. With a pedigree of mission critical deployments including everything from utility companies to the criminal justice system (read: wearable probation monitoring technology), the company is confident it will be able to develop similar relationships with the smaller banks and credit unions that are looking for affordable security solutions.

“We can protect anything with an ID and a password,” says Scott, referring to TextKey as “Fortune 100-level security that can be set up in just a few hours. And as to the question of scale? Bring it. “We could receive millions of messages a day and it wouldn’t strain the system at all. Volume is no object.”

Be sure to say tuned for our next Behind the Scenes feature with more new Finovate alums from FinovateSpring!

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New OBR Published: Mobile Account Opening

By Jim Bruene Posted on May 13, 2014
Categories: Online Banking Report

One of the biggest debates in banking today is the role of the branch, and especially its significance in new account opening. Many analysts, this firm included, see remote account opening as a better experience for the customer and potentially much cheaper for banks (though it requires downsizing branch networks to achieve meaningful cost savings).

But so far, most of the debate has been around the pros and cons of online/desktop account opening vs. the human-guided experience in branch. What’s missing in this discussion is the key role that MOBILE account opening will play going forward.

With superior technology (think OCR via smartphone camera, instant funding by taking a picture of your debit card, and real-time access to new deposits) mobile opening is much more compelling than desktop alternatives. And the technology is here today, from the likes of Mitek, Jumio and others.

Now, it takes hard work to execute via mobile channels. This report will help you get started.

About the report

Mobile Account Opening (link)
Port online account opening to smartphones to reach the sizable mobile-only segment

Author: Jeanne Capachin, Principal & Founder, CAPACHIN Research
Jim Bruene, Editor & Founder, Online Banking Report

Published 9 May 2014

Length: 28 pages

Cost: No extra charge for OBR subscribers, USD $395 for others (here)

Report excerpt (p. 12 of 28)

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Finovate Alumni News– May 13, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on May 13, 2014
Categories: Banno, FIS, InComm, Insuritas, Mambu, ProfitStars, ShopKeep POS, TIO Networks, TSYS, Yseop

Yseop expands to New York http://bit.ly/QEtHWx

InComm partners with Softgate Systems to enable consumers to make cash bill payments in-store for 12k billers.

TIO Networks partners with PSE&G to enable customer payments at 2,000+ retail locations.

TSYS chooses ShopKeep to offer POS technology in the cloud.

FIS introduces Early Risk Manager, a turnkey, cloud-based risk and compliance solution for FIs.

Back to Banno: ProfitStars rebrands Andiamo mobile payments solution; now called Banno Mobile.

Mambu wins core banking contracts with financial organizations in Nigeria, Angola, and Kenya.

United Community CU partners with Insuritas to create a virtual “Insurance Aisle” inside the credit union.

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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Financeit Unveils New Loan Application Design and Features

By David Penn Posted on May 12, 2014
Categories: FinanceIt

The announcement of Financeit’s new loan application process may not resound with the crescendo of multi-million-dollar fundings. But my guess is that the businesses who rely on Financeit to help them offer financing services to their customers are pretty pleased at the news.

Simplification and a clearer, through-line taking customers from the beginning to the end of the loan application process is the goal of the redesign. Here are the features of the “new Financeit experience”:

eSignature functionality to sign and submit documents online
Better notifications in real-time on loan status and other updates
Improved design provide single-click access to borrower, loan, fee, and commission details
New technology powers drag and drop document submittal

Financeit specializes in providing businesses with the ability to provide point-of-sale loans to their customers. With interest rates as low as 7.13% APR, Financeit borrowers can finance between $500 and $50,000 for up to 15 years. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the company has processed more than $650 million in loan applications from more than 3,400 partners.

Founded in 2011, Financeit is led by CEO Michael Garrrity and has raised more than $21 million in funding. The company demoed its technology most recently at FinovateFall 2013.

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Finovate Alumni News– May 12, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on May 12, 2014
Categories: Actiance, BancBox, Dealstruck, Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, FIS, Jumio, Loop, Manilla, ShopKeep POS, SmartyPig, Strands, Xero

Manilla to shut down July 1.

Xero and ASB launch business to bank payments.

Bancbox and Kingdom Trust Company partner to streamline the crowdfunding and P2P lending platform for the IRA investor.

Actiance tops Forrester’s social risk and compliance product list.

Strands hires new CEO, Erik Brieva.

Dealstruck and Entrepreneurial Finance Lab named finalists in Core Innovators Challenge.

FIS announces launch of FIS Instant Card to accelerate FI’s ability to provide new or replacement cards.

Chris Skinner highlights the relationship between SmartyPig and ICICI Bank in a feature on Banking-as-a-Service.

ZDnet takes a look at ShopKeep POS, including its recent $25 million investment form Thayer Street Partners.

The Motley Fools calls Loop, the invention that “will change the way you pay for everything.”

The Rock Trading Ltd. partners with Jumio for real-time ID verification services.

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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TradeHero Launches in China on iOS and Android

By David Penn Posted on May 9, 2014
Categories: TradeHero

Just in time for the IPO of Chinese commerce giant, Alibaba, TradeHero has announced that its virtual stock market platform is now available for Chinese traders and investors, whether they prefer iOS or Android.

Although just announced this week, the Chinese version of TradeHero that runs on iOS allegedly has been available since April. The Android version, which can be downloaded from app store at Baidu and Tencent as well as at Google Play, is the more recent arrival. But there’s no denying that having Chinese versions for both platforms will go a long way toward helping spread adoption of the technology, with more than 400,000 users in more than 100 countries already on board.

TradeHero also announced new features for Version 2.0, including expanded access to the trade details of other traders, changes in the way some features are paid for, and an improved user interface that puts a new emphasis on social sharing and networking.

A virtual trading community, TradeHero leverages mobile technology to provide real-time push notifications and gamification to model stock market trades and performance. Users of the platform can track top traders, who themselves can monetize their TradeHero experience by selling real-time alerts to others on the platform.

The app is free to download and use.

TradeHero is ranked the #1 finance app in 75 countries, and is in the top 10 of financial apps in 114 countries. Based in Singapore and founded in August 2012, the company demoed its virtual stock market platform at FinovateAsia 2012. See a video of the presentation here.

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