Finovate Alumni News — July 8, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgTSYS announces multi-year agreement to bring debit card services to KBC Bank in Ireland.
  • Inman News’s Real Estate Connect column includes Realty Mogul in its list of companies likely to benefit from passage of the JOBS Act.
  • Swipely’s Amanda MacArthur talks strategies for serving millennials.
  • Bank Innovation’s Hornblass takes a close look at Intuit’s decision to sell its IFS unit to Thoma Bravo.
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.

Temenos Integrated Framework Enables Mobile Banking in Africa

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Temenos unveiled its latest IT solution for banks: Temenos Integrated Framework, designed to help banks better integrate new technologies into their existing systems.

The company announced the platform’s general availability this week, and have been highlighting its recent deployment by the Commercial Bank of Africa (CAB). CAB has been using it to build out its M-Shwari mobile phone-based virtual banking platform over the past few months. Since the platform’s launch in November 2012 in Kenya, M-Shwari has:

  • Attracted more than 30,000 new customers a day on average in the first 100 days
  • Gained more than 1 billion Kenyan shillings in deposits in one month.
  • Attracted 1 million customers after 41 days
  • Onboarded more than three million customers by April 2013
M-Shwari was developed in partnership with Safaricom, an integrated African communications company, and Vodafone. Read more about the program, which aims to bring savings and loans programs to Kenyan adults, here.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Temenos is a leading provider of integrated core banking systems, with more than 1,500 customer deployments around the world. The company presented its edgeConnect UXP with Live Designer technology earlier this year at FinovateEurope. See Temenos’s demo here.

Finovate Alumni News– July 5, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgInvestment News’ “In Tech” column features Jared Broad, co-founder and CEO of QuantConnect.
  • Crowdfundinsider reports on SeedInvest’s new feature: SeedInvest Groups.
  • Bamboo Innovator takes a look at “do-it-yourself” hedge fund site, Quantopian.
  • Monitise wins Cross-Border Deal of the Year award for acquisition of Clairmail.
  • CommunityLend launches FinanceIt iPad app for consumer financing in store or on the road.
  • Zopa CEO Giles Andrews urges banks to keep customers in mind in address at Wired Money.
  • Temenos unveils solution to make it easier for banks to integrate new technology.
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.

Second Quarter 2013 Funding for Finovate Alumni — More than $200 Million Raised

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For the second quarter of 2013, fifteen Finovate alumni raised more than $200 million. The quarterly total exceeded both that of the previous quarter as well as the same quarter last year.*

  • Q2 2013: 15 companies raised more than $200 million
  • Q1 2013: 15 companies raised more than $155 million — blog post
  • Q2 2012: 14 companies raised more than $120 million — blog post
Here’s the Q2 summary for 2013:

April — $32 million raised by two companies
May — $91.5 million raised by seven companies
June — $81.7 million raised by six companies

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*While the funding over last year has increased, so has the number of Finovate alums. We’re tracking more than 100 additional companies this year compared to last year.

Note: Funding that companies received before they demonstrated at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? Email us at julie@finovate.com or david@finovate.com.

Finovate Alumni News– July 3, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgSmithsonian Magazine features how BehavioSec authenticates users.
  • NECN.com features Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai Technologies to talk about how Akamai makes the internet faster and safer for its clients.
  • Ixaris launches Ixaris Payments Server to help banks build their own corporate prepaid programs.
  • Android Police reviews EyeVerify.
  • Tasker Payment Gateways CEO touts alliance with Flint Mobile.
  • CurrencyFair featured in The Independent column on saving money when sending cash overseas.
  • Yodlee expands international reach by partnering with BlueChilli, a Sydney-based technology startup incubator.
  • Linkable Networks wins endorsement from American Bankers Association for its card-linked offer technology.
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.

SigFig Lands $15 Million in Series B Funding From Top Investors

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SigFig, the platform that helps users manage a total of $75 billion in assets, recently received $15 million in Series B funding.

The round was led by Union Square Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures. Existing investors, DCM and a number of prominent angel investors also contributed.

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The San Francisco-based company plans to use the funding to scale and improve its services.

To learn more about SigFig, watch its FinovateFall 2011 demo.

Intuit Sells Financial Services Arm for $1 Billion

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Intuit, creator of TurboTax and Quickbooks, announced today that it will sell Intuit Financial Services (IFS) to Thoma Bravo, a private equity investing firm.

Thoma Bravo will purchase IFS for $1 billion in cash. The deal includes Intuit’s banking, digital payments and mobile banking platforms. It excludes some assets, including OFX connectivity and Mint.com, which now boasts 5 million users.

Intuit purchased IFS in 2007 (it was then known as Digital Insight) for $1.35 billion. Some analysts have pointed to slow revenue growth as a reason for the sale. According to Reuters:

“IFS, which provides banking software to financial institutions, reported a revenue growth of 9 percent for the quarter ended April. In contrast, revenue at Intuit’s small business unit rose 17 percent and that at its consumer tax division increased 14 percent.”

Intuit demoed at Finovate 2009. Mint.com debuted at the very first Finovate in 2007 before it was aquired by Intuit. It last demoed at FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco.

OpenCoin Launches Bitcoin Bridge, an E-Commerce Enabler for Ripple

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Thanks to a new technology from OpenCoin, Ripple users just got access to more than 8,500 Bitcoin-accepting merchants, as well as the rest of the Bitcoin world.

OpenCoin, developers of the virtual currency protocol Ripple, announced today that Ripple users now will be able to pay directly to all Bitcoin addresses. Using a new feature called Bitcoin Bridge, users will be able to send payments in any currency and have the recipient get that payment in Bitcoins with no additional cost.

The move is significant because it demonstrates the distributed nature of OpenCoin’s virtual currency network. Said CEO Chris Larsen in a press release, “Now, anyone can send Bitcoins without having to use a central exchange.”

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Larsen similarly sees Bitcoin Bridge as a boon for merchants who accept Bitcoin.
The company also announced on Tuesday that their first U.S. gateway was now live. Using the SnapSwap gateway, Ripple users now can fund their Ripple wallets directly from their U.S.-based bank accounts.
OpenCoin’s Ripple protocol is a virtual currency and distributed currency exchange. The technology has a number of payment system applications, ranging from merchant payments to remittances. 
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, OpenCoin demoed its technology as part of the FinovateSpring 2013 show in May, Watch the company’s presentation here.

FinovateAlumni News– July 2, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgLending Club’s platform has originated $2 billion in total personal loans, $158 million of loans in June alone.
  • HSBC Bank Oman launches SecureKey for internet banking and upgrades mobile banking app.
  • Adidas to accept SafetyPay for online payments across Latin America.
  • Iowa government will soon accept Dwolla as payment for property and vehicle taxes.
  • The American Bankers Association endorses the card-linked offer technology powered by Linkable Networks.
  • The Next Web reports: Virtual stock market game startup TradeHero aims for $5m funding and 1m users by year-end.
  • Monitise and Telefonica enter mobile money partnership.
  • The Globe and Mail looks at On Deck Capital, Lending Club, and CommunityLend’s FinanceIt as alternative financing.
  • Money Insider column in The Independent features Azimo.
  • Pymnts.com interviews TSYS Director of Acquiring Solutions Product Management, Tedd Huff on payment processing.
  • OpenCoin launches Bitcoin Bridge, an e-commerce enabler for Ripple.
  • CEOCFO Magazine interviews Blaze Mobile CEO Michelle Fisher.
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.

Top 11 U.S. Financial Services Advertisers and their Online Spend

image The annual U.S advertising spend-report just arrived from Advertising Age. As usual, financial brands were big spenders. Eleven financial brands were in the top 100, including two in the top 10 (JP Morgan Chase and American Express).

Internet spend (note 1): Experian was the #1 spender online among all companies in all industries with a reported $350 million. That amounts to more than 3% of the entire $10 billion spent online in the United States last year across all industries. The credit-reporting giant didn’t spend enough offline to crack the top 100 in total advertising, which means at least 80% of its total spending is online.  

Among the big overall spenders, estimated Internet spending varies widely. American Express, BofA, Capital One, and State Farm all spent a bit more than $100 million.

In terms of percentage of all advertising, the totals varied widely. On the low end, JP Morgan, Discover and Visa devoted 2% to 3% of their budget to online advertising. On the other side, Capital One, Citi, and Progressive all placed around the 9% mark.   

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Table: U.S. advertising spending
Total of measured media and estimated unmeasured*

Company** 2012 2011 %Chg Internet % Internet Top-100 Rank
1. JP Morgan $2.1 bil $2.4 bil (11%) $46 mil 2.1% 8
2. AmEx $2.1 bil $2.1 bil (3%) $120 mil 5.7% 9
3. BofA $1.6 bil $1.7 bil (5%) $110 mil 6.9% 18
4. Capital One $1.3 bil $1.0 bil +22% $110 mil 8.5% 26
5. Citi $930 mil $980 mil (5%) $81 mil 8.7% 41
6. Progressive $800 mil $800 mil $77 mil 9.6% 51
7. Allstate $790 mil $740 mil +8% $52 mil 6.6% 54
8. State Farm $780 mil $800 mil (3%) $110 mil 14% 55
9. Discover $600 mil $460 mil +30% $12 mil 2.0% 68
10. Wells Fargo $580 mil $610 mil (5%) $21 mil 3.6% 70
11. Visa $480 mil $490 mil (1%) $12 mil 2.5% 83
Total $12.1 bil $12.1 bil $750 mil 6.2%
Experian INA INA INA $350 mil 80%+ NA

*Source: Advertising Age, 24 June 2013; methodology; The % change number was calculated with more precise annual spend numbers than what appears above
**We did not include Warren Buffet’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway which owns Geico and had the following numbers: 2012 = $1.6 bil; 2011 = $1.4 bil; +13%; Internet $31 mil, 1.9% of total

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Note:
1. Internet spend covers desktop display/search only. Does not include mobile or video ad units. 

Corduro and LendUp Partner to Provide Loans for Medical Expenses

They aren’t calling it “CorduroCare” – at least not yet. But the new partnership between a pair of Finovate alumni does aim to make it easier for people to pay their medical bills.

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As reported in a VentureBeat exclusive, a program launched by Corduro and LendUp will allow patients at participating hospitals to take out loans through LendUp. First-time borrowers will be charged up to 15% of the total loan amount, and discounts are available for borrowers who make timely payments, pay early, or take advantage of LendUp’s credit betterment/financial health resources.

Once approved, borrowers use Corduro’s mobile app (available for both iOS and Android) to pay their bill. The largest hospital currently participating in the program is Dignity Health, a non-profit hospital network in California.
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Corduro was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Southlake, Texas. The company’s PayMobile app enables one-touch payments, credit card acceptance, and also includes a secure mobile wallet.  
Based in San Francisco, California, LendUp was founded in November 2011 by Sasha Orloff and Jacob Rosenberg. The company’s LendUpLadder solution provides small dollar loans to help borrowers manage expenses and build credit.
Corduro and LendUp both demoed their technology at FinovateSpring 2013 in May, with LendUp winning Best of Show honors. Watch Corduro’s presentation here. See LendUp in action here.

Finovate Alumni News– July 1, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgCorduro teams up with LendUp to provide loans to help pay for medical expenses.
  • Entrepreneur Handbook reports on EZBOB‘s 12-month loan for online retailers.
  • CrowdFundBeat features SeedInvest and its new feature, SeedInvest Groups.
  • TSYS announces completion of NetSpend acquisition.
  • Banking Technology takes a look at LICUOS and the company’s win of Innotribe Startup Disrupt at Next Bank Madrid.
  • SafetyPay and GlobalCollect partner to advance secure Int’l payment solutions to over 300 million consumers.
  • Navallo.net interviews BillGuard CEO Yaron Samid.
  • SecondMarket expands into Bitcoin.
  • Virtual Piggy teams up with Live Gamer.
  • AG Beat describes why Kabbage and other alternative lenders will remain prevalent.
  • miiCard wins award for Technology Innovation in Financial Services at the 2013 ScotlandIS Digital Technology Awards in Glasgow.
  • BlinkMobile Interactive announces partner agreement with Linktech Solutions.
  • Pymnts.com interviews CSI Enterprises CEO, Keith Stone, on recent updates to the company’s globalVcard 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.