19 Finovate Alums Selected for 2014 European FinTech 50 Awards

The FinTech 50 awards highlight 50 European-based companies to watch over the coming year. The companies are selected by a panel of 15 fintech professionals. This year, 19 of the selected companies are Finovate alums.

Here are the Finovate alums selected, listed in alphabetical order:


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AcceptEmail, for its electronic billing and payment system that allows customers to make payments straight from their email.

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BehavioSec, for its technology that uses behavioral biometrics to verify users, creating a secure environment without extra friction.

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Credit Agricole Apps, for its online app store where financial apps are co-created between clients and developers.

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eToro, for its social trading and investment network

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ETRONIKA, for its full suite of ebanking channels and BANKTRON management platform.

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Fidor Bank, for its innovative online banking community.

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Five Degrees, for its integrated banking platform that extends from back-end systems to client-facing technology.

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FreeAgent, for its SMB-focused online accounting system.

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Help my Cash, for its recommendation engine that informs consumers of their options when choosing and negotiating financial services.
Holvi, for its smart checking account for group activities.
Ixaris, for its innovative global applications based on open-loop prepaid card schemes.

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Klarna, for its e-commerce payment solutions.

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mBank, for its Bank 3.0 approach to online and mobile banking.

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Meniga, for its white-labeled PFM and next-generation online banking solutions.

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Nutmeg, for its online savings and investing service that helps users manage their money.

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The Currency Cloud, for its Cross Border Payments as a Service product that optimizes exchange rates and payment networks for both parties in a currency exchange.

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TransferWise, for its platform that allows expats, foreign exchange students and businesses to move money globally.

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Wonga, for its service that provides small, short term cash advances to UK consumers online.

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Zopa, for its P2P money lending service that allows borrowers and lenders to deal with each other directly.

Feedzai Brings its Fraud Prevention Solutions to United States

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Just two weeks before taking the stage at FinovateEurope in London, fraud prevention company Feedzai announced that it will be taking its solutions across the pond to the United States.

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Feedzai’s technology uses big data and machine learning to understand user behavior and prevent fraud.

While this core service has been around since 2008 in Europe, the Portugal-based company will debut a new solution at FinovateEurope in a couple weeks. The new technology will help banks privately connect with users via social apps such as Facebook and Yelp. To get a better look at what it plans to demo, check out the sneak peek here.

To watch Feedzai demo its new solution live on the FinovateEurope stage, get your ticket here.

Finovate Alumni News– January 29, 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.jpgKensho raises $10 million in seed funding ahead of Finovate debut.
  • ACI Worldwide partners with Integrated Research to launch Prognosis 10 for Payments.
  • TSYS CEO assures his company has no exposure from Target data breach.
  • Fiserv announces availability of its Vantage Risk and Budgeting Manager application as a hosted SaaS option.
  • Prosper selects First Associates to provide backup loan servicing for its P2P lending platform.
  • Feedzai brings its fraud prevention solutions to United States. Come see Feedzai’s live demo at FinovateEurope February 11-12.
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.

Kensho Raises $10 Million in Seed Funding Ahead of Finovate Debut

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If you were a promising young start-up making a list of things to pack ahead of your first trip to FinovateEurope, how high up on the list would $10 million in seed funding be?

That’s the kind of high quality problem intelligent systems specialist Kensho gets to grapple with over the next few weeks. The company’s innovations in real-time, split-second investment analysis have attracted the likes of Accel Partners, Devonshire Investors, General Catalyst, Google Ventures, and NEA – all of whom participated in the seed round. But the kicker may be the delivery system Kensho has developed for all this split-second analysis: an intelligent virtual research assistant able to understand natural language commands and respond to complex queries.

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“Kensho is dedicated to the idea that communicating in natural language with intelligent computer systems which serve as virtual personal assistants will form the leading edge of global innovation over the next half-decade,” Kensho CEO Daniel Nadler said. He added that the funding would help Kensho bring on “the best and most experienced” engineering talent.

Kensho was founded in 2013, and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To learn more about how to see Kensho at FinovateEurope in February, click here.

Finovate Alumni News– January 28, 2014

  • DailyFinance looks at Kabbage’s “war” on banking.
  • Blackhawk Network powering Mobile Money by T-Mobile.
  • Credit Sesame launches mobile credit dashboard for easy credit and financial monitoring.
  • Actiance launches Alcatraz, a cloud-based archive that combines a focus on context with the traditional requirements of an email archive.
  • New York Bankers Association endorses Gremln.
  • Service2Media unveils version 4.4 of M2Active mobile app development platform.
  • Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand featured in Xconomy column on University of Colorado at Boulder’s New Venture Challenge program.
  • Be sure to check out the latest installment of our FinovateEurope 2014 Sneak Peek series.
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.

FinovateEurope 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6

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Is there a better way to start your week than by getting to know another six companies that are helping redefine financial technology for a new generation of increasingly mobile consumers?

Today we’ve got another handful of companies who will be presenting their innovations at Old Billingsgate Market Hall in London for FinovateEurope 2014. From mobile imaging and investment advisory to cloud-based banking and PFM, the presenters at this year’s event are guaranteed to show us more than a few clues as to what we will see from fintech’s best and brightest in 2014.

And if you’ve missed previous installments of our Sneak Peek series, be sure to check out Peeks #1-5 below.


atsora_hi_res_logo.jpgAtsora provides one-stop shopping for SME finance analytics and business management, bringing together companies, banks, and financial service providers on one platform to interact better.

Features:
  • SaaS financial hub for engaging SMEs and banks
  • SMEs can build business models (canvas) and track them based on real flows
  • Momentum bases on out of the box and 3rd party widgets. Developers are welcome.
Why it’s great:
The SME banking sector is highly underserved. We help to move it into the world of banking 3.0, and allow banks to deliver tailor-made support just in time.

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Krzysztof Pulkiewicz, CEO
Is an architect with banking and insurance business experience. He translates business ideas into technology in order to make things happen.

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Anna Ciesielska, COO
Spent years as a banking sector consultant. She is also an experienced entrepreneur and drives innovative ideas in order to solve practical business problems.

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Avoka is an innovative SaaS company offering a multi-channel digital business platform that helps organizations successfully transform business transactions into powerful cross-channel experiences.
Features:
  • Omni-channel customer interactions, with ease (no programming)
  • Move between mobile, tablet, branch, call centre without starting over
  • Agile development delivers fast time-to-market
Why it’s great:
Using Avoka Transact you can build true omni-channel customer experiences faster and more cost-effectively than using traditional Web development.

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Derek Corcoran, Head of Business Solutions
Works closely with Avoka’s global customer base to help them transact with their customers through online and mobile channels.

ExcessReturnLogo.jpgExcess Return develops new generation investment tools for the financial community.

Features:
  • Find the very best trading ideas
  • Enhance your performance
  • Minimize your risk
Why it’s great:
The stock market becomes child’s play.

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Frédéric Liefferinckx, Managing Partner & Co-Founder

TopImageSystems_hi_res_logo.jpgTop Image Systems provides a mobile imaging platform driving innovation imaging and document processing solutions for FIs such as check deposit, bill payment, and more.

Features:
  • IQA on the handset
  • Automatic image capture
  • Optimal user experience
Why it’s great:
As per BBC TV, FIs are looking seriously at mobile imaging.

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Isaac Rome, VP Mobile Solutions
Leads the business development, marketing, sales, product development and all related activities for the Company’s mobile and banking solutions.

Truphone_hi_res_logo.jpgTruphone Mobile Recording helps you stay globally compliant and productive while enabling mobilization and fuller utilization of existing IT infrastructure.

Features:
  • Effortless global compliance to FCA regulations for mobile recording
  • Global productivity: record calls in 110 countries, without compromising call quality
  • Enable mobilization
Why it’s great:
Truphone mobile recording is the only solution that allows for global compliance and enterprise mobility, without compromising call quality.
(not pictured) Paul Liesching is the SVP of Truphone Mobile Recording, and pioneered the first commercial mobile recording solution of 2005.

yourwealth_hi_res_logo.jpgMomentum (fka YourWealth) uses accessible innovation technology to place the consumer at the heart of the financial world, whether they have £5 or £50 million.

Features:
  • Money Hub users can budget, aggregate accounts, and plan multiple scenarios
  • Link Money Hub to your financial advisor
  • Accessible via mobile, tablet and desktop devices
Why it’s great:
Money Hub will revolutionize the way you manage your money, interact with your financial advisor, and plan your financial future.

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Toby Hughes, CEO and Founder
Is an entrepreneur with over 10 years of digital marketing and technological innovation experience in financial services.

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Dave Tonge, CTO and Full Stack Developer
Specializes in interactive user interfaces and efficient software architecture.

Credit Card Vault in the Cloud Spreedly Raises $500K

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Lost in the wave of funding news over the holidays was word that fintech’s “credit card vault in the cloud” is now half a million dollars richer.

The $500,000 in new funding goes to Spreedly, the Durham, North Carolina-based payments specialist that made its Finovate debut last fall. The investment comes courtesy of E-Merge.be, a group of angel investors from Belgium that has previously put capital to work on behalf of companies like the recently-acquired payments gateway, Ogone, and Cabify.

The investment represents a stamp of approval for the direction Spreedly has taken since it was founded in 2007. Once just another startup in the crowded field of online payments, Spreedly has evolved to play a different, more unique role when it comes to helping businesses make better, more secure, fully PCI-compliant, payment routing decisions.
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At its most basic, Spreedly’s credit card vault allows businesses to securely store credit card information in the cloud, where it can be readily accessed for repeat customers. Perhaps even more importantly, Spreedly provides businesses with data on the relative performance of more than 50 different payment gateways. This helps businesses not just save money, but also cut down on efficiency-killers like time outs and false declines.
Spreedly includes among its customers Fusebill, BoxTV, and fellow Finovate alum, Wallaby. The company’s CEO is Justin Benson.

Finovate Alumni News– January 27, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgLending Club named #5 on Forbes’ Most Promising Companies List.
  • The Wall Street Journal mentions SecondMarket’s private shares trading market.
  • Doxo receives 2013 Award for best Software and App from the Seattle Award Program.
  • VentureBeat lists Xero and Expensify as 2 of the best back-office software applications for small businesses.
  • Billhighway Prepaid MasterCard named winner in eighth annual Paybefore Awards.
  • Bank Systems & Technology features Allied Payment Network’s Picture Pay mobile bill pay app.
  • FIS wins Frost & Sullivan Customer Value Enhancement award for FIS Mobile Wallet.
  • Credit Card Vault in the Cloud Spreedly Raises $500k.
  • Find Biometrics takes a brief look at 2013 and 2014 with EyeVerify’s Director of Marketing, Denise Myers.
  • DeviceFidelity announces availability of its IsisReady NFC cases for iPhone.
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 Alumni News– January 24, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgPersonal Capital “zips past the $350 million mark,” reports growth rates of +10% month-over-month.
  • Inc. features Kabbage’s growth & how it has extended $200+ mil in funding to SMBs in just 2.5 years of operations.
  • FINalternatives looks at P2P lending growth and evolution, including Lending Club and Prosper.
  • Ovum research report highlights ACI Worldwide’s leadership in payment switching industry.
  • MarketWatch features Better ATM Services in report on the next generation of ATMs.
  • CSI globalVCard named a finalist in two categories in 2014 Stevie Awards.
  • RTE News takes a look at Irish fintech startups including CurrencyFair and Trustev. Watch Trustev demo its technology at FinovateEurope 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.

The Billion-Dollar Fintech Club (private companies)

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With Stripe raising $80 million at a $1.75 billion valuation yesterday, I was wondering how many other private fintech companies have reached that milestone recently. It’s not as many as I had hoped, but perhaps I’m missing a few. If so, please tweet @netbanker or email me since blog comments are broken (new system coming in Q1, really). 

Pretty sure:

  • Square valued at $5 billion this month (Techcrunch)
  • Lending Club valued at $2.3 bil in late 2013 (Bloomberg)
  • Wonga has been discussed as a billion-plus company for several years and has annual profit in excess of $100 million (in Sep 2013 Wonga reportedly turned down a $1.6+ billion bid  Sky.com post)
  • Stripe valued at $1.75 billion as of yesterday (Reuters)

Likely:

  • Klarna the Swedish ecommerce giant has raised $250 mil and has a $200 million annual revenue run rate; it recently made a 9-figure acquisition of Sofort (Techcrunch, 18 Dec 2013)

On their way (based on recent fundings):

  • Cardlytics has raised more $100 million and reported a $200 million annual run rate in Q4 2013
  • Credit Karma raised a $30-million series B in April to further its ad-driven free credit report business, which is one of the busiest financial websites and most popular iPhone app (other than the big retail banks) (Finovate post)
  • On Deck Capital raised $42 million in early 2013, bringing the total to $102 million, and projected $80 to $100 million in revenues for 2013 (Venturewire)
  • Paydiant has raised more than $30 million and is powering payments via Subway’s mobile app; looking at Stripe’s $1.7 bil valuation, it seems plausible that Paydiant is closing in on the billion mark
  • Ping Identity — it can be hard to evaluate security plays because there often isn’t much transparency into their traction, but based on Ping’s $78 mil raised, including $44 mil in July ($15 mil of that was debt), they must be doing something very right (Finovate post)
  • Prosper had one-quarter of Lending Club’s loan-origination volume in December, making them potentially worth more than $500 million based on the Lending Club $2+ bil valuation
  • Sofi, with $300 million lent to prestige college grads, it could be the Lending Club of high-income 20- and 30-somethings

Made it (recently went public/acquired):

  • Xero, the New Zealand-based cloud accounting company, is valued at US$4 bil on NZ market
  • Qiwi PLC, the Russian payment giant, went public in May 2013 and is currently valued at $2 bil (Nasdaq)
  • Lifelock went public in Oct 2012 and is currently worth $1.8 billion, it recently acquired Lemon to bolster its mobile identity-protection services
  • Trusteer, the online security company, sold to IBM for $1 billion in 2013
  • Climate Corp (formerly Weatherbill), a weather insurance play, sold to Monsanto for $930 mil in Oct 2013 after raising $107 mil (Forbes)
  • Braintree sold to PayPal for $800 million, $200 mil shy of the “club,” but not too shabby

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Picture credit: Fakemillion.com

Five Finovate Alums Make Forbes America’s Most Promising Companies List for 2014

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Last year, Forbes selected four Finovate alums for its “America’s Most Promising Companies” roster.

This year, Forbes picked five.

Lending Club is back, the veteran of last year’s list climbing from a #12 ranking in 2013 to a #5 in 2014. Also returning is On Deck Capital, which soared from a #94 ranking last year to an #11 ranking this year.
When you look at the other alums to make the 2014 roster, it is clear that success in the lending  and capital-raising businesses are what bring in the votes over at Forbes. In addition to Lending Club and On Deck Capital, there is Kabbage coming in at #37. 

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Rank: #5
Revenue: $98 million
Employees: 379

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Rank: #11
Revenue: $65 million
Employees: 240

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Rank: #37
Revenue: $17 million
Employees: 80

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Rank: #81
Revenue: $16 million
Employees: 88

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Rank: #98
Revenue: $0
Employees: 12