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Finovate Alumni News — March 25, 2014

By David Penn Posted on March 25, 2014
Categories: Backbase, Bazaarvoice, Betterment, Credit Karma, Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, Kapitall, Lending Club, On Deck Capital, Place2Give, SmartAsset, Top Image Systems, Wealthfront

Eleven Finovate alums win awards at PYMNTS Innovation Project 2014. Bazaarvoice announces partnership with Spredfast. TechCrunch: Wealthfront, OnDeck, Lending Club, Credit Karma, Betterment, and Kapitall "come of age." CMS Wire reviews Backbase's customer experience platform. Top Image Systems' eFLOW to process the digital census of a country in EMEA in a deal worth more than $1 million. Place2Give releases GIVE-API to provide access to its database of charities as well as its payment processing tech. SmartAsset raises $5.2 million in series A funding. Come see their live demo at FinovateSpring next month in San Jose. Netherlands Queen Maxima visits Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) to see its psychometric credit scoring methodology in action. 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.

FinanceIt’s New Printed Materials Service Keeps Shoppers Informed of Financing Options at the Point of Sale

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on March 24, 2014
Categories: FinanceIt

In an era when the Internet of Things is becoming wildly popular, POS financing provider Financeit has opened up a communications channel in the analog world of print.

The Canadian-based company announced today that its users now have the option to order printed materials, such as:

Brochures detailing Financeit and its benefit to customers Price tags that help highlight monthly prices Posters and window displays Stickers for front window and cash register

These printed materials not only let shoppers know that instant financing is available in the store, but also help to educate them about the merchant's payment plan options through Financeit.

Users can order these items in the Library section of their account.

Financeit has raised a total of $21 million and demoed at FinovateFall 2013 and FinovateFall 2012.

Eleven Finovate Alums Win Awards at PYMNTS Innovation Project 2014

By David Penn Posted on March 24, 2014
Categories: Bill.com, Credit Karma, Klarna, Lending Club, Mitek, PayNearMe, PayPal, PaySimple, Prosper, Ripple, Venmo

The votes are in. The judges have decided. And 11 Finovate alums have earned awards at the 2014 PYMNTS.com Innovation Project, including three gold medals.

Finovate alums won awards in a diverse range of categories, from "B2B Innovation" to "Best Comeback Story." Areas where alums dominated included "Best Credit Innovation," where Credit Karma, Lending Club, and Klarna swept the field, as well as "Best Innovation via ACH" and "Best Check Innovation."

The Innovation Project is "powered by PYMNTS.com," a joint venture between BusinessWire and Market Platform Dynamics. The event is in its second year, and was again held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A total of 49 awards were presented. Gold, silver, and bronze in fifteen categories, plus singular Catalyst, Women Driving Innovation in Payments, Lifetime Achievement, and Best in Show awards.
Also announced were three inductees to the Payments Hall of Fame. See how the rest…

Finovate Alumni News– March 24, 2014

By David Penn Posted on March 24, 2014
Categories: BBVA, BellaDati, BillGuard, Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, CurrencyTransfer, Currensee, Kensho, Ping Identity, Quantopian, TransferWise

Oanda announces integration of Currensee's Trade Leaders platform to support social trading. TransferWise recognized as "boldest small company" in winning FT's Boldest in Business award for 2014. BBVA follows Simple acquisition with launch of new digital banking unit. Currency Transfer featured in Wired UK as Startup of the Week. BillGuard invites beta testers to try its new Android app. Mail Tribune highlights the importance of Credit Karma and Credit Sesame. Ping Identity purchases Accells Technologies to make mobile devices into a tool for logging you in to all of your cloud-based services in one shot. BellaDati launches the next level of visual data discovery with new release. Matt Turck examines opportunities for Kensho and Quantopian in a Bloomberg-dominated world. 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.

BancBox’s New API Ensures Accreditation of Investors So Crowdfunding Platforms Don’t Have To

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on March 21, 2014
Categories: BancBox

Players in the crowdfunding space have a lot of headaches in order to maintain compliance, especially since the SEC requires that parties who invest in offerings on crowdfunding platforms must be fully accredited. That is, they must meet one of the following two requirements:

1) Have earned $200,000/ year in both of the past two years (or $300,000 with spouse) and expect to earn the same next year

2) Have a net worth of $1 million (excluding primary residence)

BancBox, a company known for its money-moving APIs, is seeking to remove this barrier for players in the crowdfunding industry with its new API that will verify the accreditation of investors.

The API is a part of the BancBox Invest service. It will enable crowdfunding platforms to determine if their investors are accredited and legally allowed to invest in the platform. In order to comply with the SEC's 506(c)…

Payoneer Wins Role as Payments Provider for Google Trusted Stores

By David Penn Posted on March 21, 2014
Categories: Payoneer

Fresh off its announcement of a $25 million series D, global payments company Payoneer reports that it was chosen by Google to be a payments provider for Google Trusted Stores Program.

Scott Galit, Payoneer CEO, said, "Payoneer provides a seamless, automated payment process that meets Google's high standards for technology, security and service."

The Google Trusted Stores program is designed to help consumers find trustworthy merchants when shopping online. Payoneer's job will be to provide the bank transfer services, and deliver the program's purchase protection consumer payments in some of the countries where the program operates. Said Galit, "This exciting new program increases sales for merchants and builds confidence for consumers when making online purchases." Payoneer's global payout platform is used by companies in more than 200 countries around the world. In addition to enabling seamless, cross-border sending and receiving of funds, Payoneer also features a variety of payout…

Finovate Alumni News– March 21, 2014

By David Penn Posted on March 21, 2014
Categories: App Annie, MasterCard, MiiCard, PayNearMe, Payoneer, PayPal, Ping Identity, Q2ebanking

TechCrunch features an interview with App Annie CEO, Bertrand Schmitt. MasterCard announces MasterPass debut in China. Q2 goes public, shares rally early in trading debut as company earns $533 million market cap. miiCard working with eMerchantPay to offer merchants a more secure payment processing platform. PayNearMe partners with self-storage management software E-SoftSys to enable users to accept cash payments online. PayPal to let UK users order food ahead of visiting a restaurant, and use its app to pay for their food with a four-digit code when eating at a restaurant. Venture Beat: Ping Identity acquires Accells Technologies. Payoneer wins role as payments provider for Google Trusted Stores. 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.

Q2 Holdings Goes Public, Shares Rally Early in Trading Debut

By David Penn Posted on March 20, 2014
Categories: Q2

Here at Finovate Headquarters, we've got three reasons for having a little extra skip in our steps today:

First day of spring First day of March Madness Basketball Tournament First IPO of a Finovate alum

That alum is Q2, going public as Q2 Holdings this morning through an offering of 7.7 million shares of common stock at a price of $13 per share. The IPO is expected to raise more than $93 million, and Q2 will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol, QTWO.

As Q2 CEO Matt Flake said in an interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, "we've created a platform that allows community banks and regional financial institutions that don't have the technological wherewithal to do it themselves (to compete)." "Our companies are doing very well right now," he said. "They just need better technology." Asked about the interface and user experience, Flake said: "It's a beautiful interface…

Lending Club Moves into Small Business Lending Market

By David Penn Posted on March 20, 2014
Categories: Lending Club

Peer-to-peer lender, Lending Club, announced today that it is expanding into small business lending. The company will provide 1 to 5 year loans of between $15,000 and $100,000, starting at a fixed rate of 5.9%.

Does this make them P2P2B?

In an interview with CNN Money/Fortune, Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche said that the move was a matter of meeting a need that had gone unmet in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. "Over the last couple years, the larger commercial loan market has picked up again," he said. "If you look at smaller commercial loans, that market has continued to shrink since 2008."

"It's not for lack of demand. There are a lot of business owners who don't have the capital to grow their businesses." Laplanche suggested that the market for lending to small businesses "is not all that crowded." But the new initiative is a shot…

Finovate Alumni News– March 20, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on March 20, 2014
Categories: Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, Feedzai, Fenergo, MasterCard, Matchi, mBank, Narrative Science, SecondMarket, Striata, Thomson Reuters

More than 25 banks have signed up for Matchi since its launch in November last year. American Banker looks at how Credit Karma and Credit Sesame provide more than just a credit score. Thomson Reuters launches Know-Your-Customer service. SecondMarket seeks to open Bitcoin fund to ordinary investors. Pymnts features Feedzai's CEO Nuno Sebastiao. Striata unveils new logo, new website. Fenergo appoints Oliver White to UK Head of Sales. mBank and Orange partner to launch full-service, retail mobile bank in second half of 2014. MasterPass from MasterCard now available in Italy. Narrative Science launches free app to turn data into readable documents. 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.

Lending, Investing, & More Futurecasts for FinovateSpring 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on March 19, 2014
Categories: FinovateSpring 2014

At FinovateSpring in San Jose this year, we're excited to showcase brand new innovation from a variety of players in the fintech industry.

This year, we'll see the newest innovations from large, established players and we'll also watch never-before-seen startups debut to the world.

This word cloud comprises some of the major themes you can expect to see on stage at City National Civic on April 29 and 30 (click to enlarge):

Pique your interest? Get your ticket here to be part of the audience and see the lastest in fintech first.

FinovateSpring 2014 is sponsored by: The Bancorp, Financial Technology Partners, Hudson Cook, LLP, Life.SREDA, and Xignite.

FinovateSpring 2014 is partners with: BankersHub, California Bankers Association Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, Celent, Filene, Javelin Strategy & Research, SME Finance Forum, and www.VisibleBanking.com

Narrative Science Launches Free App to Turn Data Into Readable Documents

By David Penn Posted on March 19, 2014
Categories: Narrative Science

There is technology that turns reams of data into natural language reports that are virtually indistinguishable from copy produced by human analysts. And I've always felt as if it was some of the most underappreciated technology in fintech.

The new free app from Narrative Science may go some way toward helping change that.

Quill Engage from Narrative Science takes data from Google Analytics and translates it into natural language reports for website owners. The technology is powered by Narrative Science's Quill platform, which the company demoed at FinovateFall 2013 in New York. In the words of Narrative Science CEO Stuart Frankel, the technology makes it possible for website users of all kinds to maximize their ability to gather meaningful business intel on their website's performance. "Quill provides instant analysis in the form of easy-to-read, written reports that empower people to do their jobs better," he said. "(It) is a powerful…