Blog - Page 967 of 1285

Tradeshift Brings in $15 Million of a $57 Million Equity Round

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 18, 2013
Categories: Funding, Tradeshift

Electronic invoicing solutions company, Tradeshift, announced it recently brought in $15 million in equity funding.This round is the first installment of a $57 million round. According to the San Francisco-based company this equity sale is, "part of something much bigger," though it did not provide further detail.Tradeshift demonstrated at FinovateEurope 2013 in London where it debuted its Instant Payments feature.

Klarna Acquires Sofort to Become 10% of Europe’s $100 Billion E-Commerce Market

By David Penn Posted on December 18, 2013
Categories: Klarna

In a deal reported to be worth $150 million, mobile payments company Klarna is acquiring German rival, Sofort.The purchase will make Klarna one of the bigger fish in Europe's payment industry pond. The company estimates that the acquisition will result in a 10% share of an e-commerce market valued at $100 billion.A few more metrics on the new Klarna:Operates in 14 countriesServes 43,000 merchants and 25 million usersEarns $200 million in revenues annuallyExpects to process $10 billion in transaction value in 2014The new Klarna will combine the company's current strength in northern Europe with Sofort's market reach in Germany and Austria. Both companies will be operated separately, and the acquisition will require approval from Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority.Klarna has been a favorite of major industry investors, racking up $250 million in funding from the likes of Sequoia Capital. Sequoia was credited for originally suggesting the partnership with Sofort.A leading mobile…

Finovate Alumni News– December 18, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 18, 2013
Categories: Check Point, CR2, Dwolla, Emida, Geezeo, MasterCard, Mitek, MoneyDesktop, Payfone

Dwolla launches Form Builder to enable users to build free custom payment forms.Utah Valley Business Q Mag recognizes MoneyDesktop for its billboard advertising (see page 52-53).Blue Coat and Check Point Extend Partnership on High-End X-Series Network Security Systems.Payfone to use AT&T's network data to enhance its mobile identity services.Vovox and Emida partner to provide enhanced mobile payment options for users.West - Aircomm FCU to offer PFM powered by Geezeo.Mike Brady named COO at CR2.MasterCard debuts MasterPass in Italy. Business Banking Review names Mitek-powered U.S. Bank Mobile Photo Bill Pay "Best Technology Initiative in Banking".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.

FinovateAsia 2013 Best of Show: IND Group

By David Penn Posted on December 17, 2013
Categories: FinovateAsia 2013, IND Group

Best of Show: IND Group"Shaping trends, pursuing innovations and our enthusiasm in e-finance are what make us capable of creating and delivering state-of-the-art solutions. The fact that we were named among the 100 best global vendors shows that IND has reached the top."--Balazs Vinnai, CEO, IND Group.Who knew that IND Group was just one inspired Finovate demo away from even further accolades from the fintech community? Within weeks of earning its first spot on the Fintech 101, IND Group was returning home from Singapore with their very first Finovate Best of Show award.People will rightly talk about IND Group's laugh-out-loud demo, a skit that used an imagined wild night on the town with a cast of crazy characters to help showcase the company's mobile banking and personal finance management app, Essence. But what also won fans is the way Essence is designed around both basic banking functions like checking an account balance…

Check’s New iOS7 App Puts Payments Front and Center

By David Penn Posted on December 17, 2013
Categories: Check

A new, simpler design is the easiest way to describe the iOS7-inspired makeover of Check's bill pay and personal finance management app. But users won't have to look long to find other ways that Check has worked to make it quicker and more efficient to make payments via smartphone."People want to know first and foremost three things," said Guy Goldstein, Check CEO, in a conversation yesterday. "What you have, what you owe, and when bills are due." To this end, the redesigned app not only puts payment functionality on the home screen, but also features enhanced navigation that makes it easier for users to manage bills, view reports, and change settings.The redesigned app is the company's first major initiative since raising $24 million in funding in September. The goal is to evolve a solution that began as a PFM app into a real payments application. "Our vision is to be…

Finovate Alumni News– December 17, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 17, 2013
Categories: FIS, Kashoo, Mint.com, Mortgagebot, Realty Mogul, SecondMarket, TIO Networks, Tuition.io

In The Capital features Tuition.io's student loan gift payment feature.First Internet Bank leverages Mortgagebot Enterprise Solution to Win 2013 Online Mortgage Originator Award.Coinbase: SecondMarket's Bitcoin Investment Trust Amasses $61.1m in 3 Months.TIO Networks to launch a full suite of electronic bill payment services for Gulf Power Company.Realty Mogul CEO Jillene Helman talks about crowdfunding real estate on Bloomberg TV.FIS wins Javelin's Best in Class Overall Mobile Banking Vendor award for 2013.Kashoo, Mint named among "6 great iOS accounting apps for small business" by Business News Daily.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.

New Online Banking Report Published: Digital Small Business Banking

By Jim Bruene Posted on December 16, 2013
Categories: Online Banking Report, Small Business

There is no other issue that ignites our passion like the lack of attention paid to small- and micro-businesses by many mainstream banks. With more than 20-million small businesses, 1 in 5 U.S. households owns a small business. And that doesn't even count all the independent sales reps and part-time contractors that need help managing their more complicated finances. There are many reasons why the smallest businesses continue to fly under the radar: smaller balances, more complex needs, widely varying expertise, challenging underwriting issues and so on. Traditionally, this segment has been difficult to serve cost-effectively. But with technology readily available to monitor daily financial performance, respond to service requests via email, outsource credit via crowdfunding and alt-lending (see note 1), and customize online banking services, the "it's too expensive" excuse is less and less believable. That said, it's not easy determining how best to serve the varying needs of…

Innovations at FinovateEurope 2014: Part 2

By David Penn Posted on December 16, 2013
Categories: Luxoft, Matchi, Meniga, Mobino, Money on Toast, MyOrder, myWishBoard, NF Innova, Nostrum Group, Nous.net, payworks, PhotoPay, Pixeliris, Plutus Software, SaaS Markets, Smart Engine, SoftWear Finance, SQLI, Temenos, The Moneyer, Tink, Tootpay, Top Image Systems, Topicus, Toshl, Truephone, Trustev, Yseop

A week ago we introduced you to half of the companies that will be demoing their technologies on stage for FinovateEurope 2014.Today we're providing the second half of our scheduled roster for February.For more information, and to get your tickets, visit our Finovate Europe 2014 page here.Luxoft's iStockTrack is an innovative iPad solution providing mobile banking services for private and premium banking clients.Matchi is an innovative matchmaking platform for banks and innovators to establish collaborative relationships that deliver increased ROI for innovators and banks alike.Meniga is Europe's leading white-label PFM provider. The company helps banks improve their businesses through data-mining, cross-sales, and improved retention.Mobino enables mobile payments for 5 billion people, from any phone, no credit card required.The Moneyer is the future of online Personal Finance Management.Money on Toast delivers independent and whole of the market, FCA-regulated financial advice online via its algorithm-powered adviser.MyOrder provides a m-commerce mobile app that serves…

Finovate Alumni News– December 16, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 16, 2013
Categories: Biometric Signature ID, Bright Funds, FutureAdvisor, Kasasa, MoneyDesktop, Personal Capital, SecondMarket, SocietyOne

MoneyDesktop to power Kasasa 360 Financial Management Platform.SF Gate reports: SecondMarket allows IRA investment in Bitcoin.Crowdfund Investor features SocietyOne's P2P Lending platform.Digital Journal promotes Personal Capital and FutureAdvisor.Biometric Signature ID profiled in Huffington Post column on identity proofing.San Francisco Business Times' Bay Area BizTalk features Bright Funds.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– December 13, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 13, 2013
Categories: Blackhawk Network, EyeVerify, MasterCard, MoneyDesktop, Tradeshift

Blackhawk Network partners with Opengate to Launch New Prepaid Content in South Africa.Tradeshift unveils Oracle Gold partnership & supply chain connectivity solution for the Oracle E-Business Suite.MasterCard launches recruitment drive for e-commerce tech lab in New York City.EyeVerify featured in KCUR.org column on the "benefits and disadvantages of launching a startup in Kansas City."New MoneyDesktop Website Wins Multiple W3 Awards.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.

Bank Opportunity #307: Online/Mobile Gift Cards

By Jim Bruene Posted on December 13, 2013
Categories: Fee Income, Prepaid/gift cards

Regardless of the form factor, a favorite holiday gift is money. Some people like to give crisp 20s, the hand-written check still has a certain charm (as long as the recipient has mobile deposit capture), but the biggest growth area has been the plastic gift card (note 1). Banks should have owned this trend, at least in the United States. Those 100,000 branches would have been good distribution points (note 2), a place that you trust far more than the express checkout lane at Safeway. But alas, that ship has sailed. The good news? Financial institutions still have an opportunity to be major players in digital gift car distribution, especially mobile. Here's why: Purchase time is reduced to seconds, since you already know the customer Customers trust you to deliver a valid gift card, and if there is a problem, it's relatively easy to find someone to help them Buyers…

MoneyDesktop to Power Kasasa 360 Financial Management Platform

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 12, 2013
Categories: BancVue, Kasasa, MoneyDesktop

BancVue's Kasasa 360 Financial Management platform received a bit of a upgrade recently, thanks to a partnership with PFM expert, MoneyDesktop.By bringing together MoneyDesktop's expertise in PFM with Kasasa's national brand of rewards checking and savings, the two hope to drive account acquisition, account retention and increase cross-selling opportunities.This union of two Finovate Best of Show-winning companies will give Kasasa 360 users the ability to track their finances across different financial institutions in one place and enable them to view their rewards tied to their Kasasa checking and savings accounts.To get a better idea of the what each company has to offer, check out the live demo videos. Bancvue demonstrated Kasasa at Finovate 2009 and MoneyDesktop last demonstrated at FinovateFall 2013.