Azimo

Alumni News– October 27, 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Encap, Expensify, Feedzai, FutureAdvisor, Nutmeg, PayNearMe, Prosper, SocietyOne, The Currency Cloud, Thinknum, TransferWise, Xignite, Zopa
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFeedzai and Encap Security team up to combine behavioral profiling with device credentialing to build better security for banks and merchants.
  • CB Insights lists Nutmeg, TransferWise, The Currency Cloud, and Azimo among the 10 top fintech startups from the UK.
  • The Guardian Money section looks at peer-to-peer lender including Zopa.
  • TWiST (This Week in Startups) interviews FutureAdvisor Co-Founder and CEO Bo Lu.
  • Prosper reaches $2 billion, reaching the second billion dollars in just 6 months.
  • Payment processing solutions provider, Bill2Pay, partners with PayNearMe to digitize cash collections.
  • The Australian Business Review features Matt Symons, SocietyOne co-founder.
  • EVO* Snap launches mPOS Solution Supporting Apple Pay and EMV Globally.
  • MedicalMine and Bluefin Partner for Integrated Patient Payments.
  • Check out our feature on Xignite: Inspiring the Future of Finance with Easy and Speedy APIs
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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Alumni News– August 26, 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: ACI Worldwide, Azimo, Banno, BizEquity, FIS, Holvi, Jack Henry, MasterCard, Mortgagebot, SecureKey
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgACI Worldwide ranks #36 in Apps Run the Cloud’s Top 500 application vendors.
  • Startups.co.uk interviews Michael Kent, CEO and founder of Azimo.
  • TechCrunch profiles Finland-based startup, Holvi.
  • American Banker looks at how banks can use BizEquity’s app that enables small businesses to estimate the value of their company.
  • Wade Arnold, founder of Banno which was sold to Jack Henry & Associates, is 1 of 5 finalists honored in annual Silicon Prairie Awards.
  • SecureKey and Trustonic partner to enable SecureKey’s briidge.net Connect services to work with Trustonic in select mobile devices. Check out SecureKey at FinDEVr this fall.
  • Bank Mutual selects D+H’s Mortgagebot solution for end-to-end mortgage lending.
  • India’s Bank of Maharashtra deploys FIS payment platform.
  • The new Citi Wallet supports digital payments via MasterPass from MasterCard. See the company present at FinDEVr in San Francisco this fall.
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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Finovate Alums Raise $600 Million in First Quarter of 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, BankBazaar, Birdback, CAN Capital, Credit Karma, Doxo, Kantox, Kapitall, Kensho, Klarna, On Deck Capital, PayNearMe, Payoneer, peerTransfer, Realty Mogul, Red Zebra, SmartAsset, SocietyOne, Spreedly, ThreatMetrix, Tradeshift, ZenPayroll, Zopa

FinovateFundingIMG.jpg

Want some context on the torrid pace of fintech financing in the first three months of 2014?

Consider this: a year ago, fourteen Finovate alums raised a total of more than $150 million in the first quarter of 2013.

A year later, we have just nine alums raising more than twice as much in the month of March alone.

March Madness, indeed.
Q1 of 2014 saw 23 Finovate alums walk away with just under $600 million in capital. The biggest haul of the quarter came courtesy of Klarna, which raised more than $125 million. 
But there were plenty of similarly impressive fundraisings, including the $85 million raised by Credit Karma, and the $77 million and $75 million secured by OnDeck and Tradeshift, respectively.
Total raised = More than $592 million
January — $91 million raised by seven companies
February — $139 million raised by seven companies
March — $362 million raised by nine companies
Note: Funding prior to becoming a Finovate alum not included. Questions? Comments? Email us at David@finovate.com or Julie@finovate.com

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Finovate Alumni News– March 13, 2014

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Azimo, BBVA, BBVA Compass, Cardlytics, Kashoo, mBank, Narrative Science, PayPal, Tink
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgPayments News: MasterCard, Fiserv partner on Debit EMV for Accel Network.
  • Xero named top choice in the list of “favorite online-based business accounting apps” by both PCWorld and Macworld.
  • Credit Karma brings in $85 million in financing led by Google Capital.
  • Compliance Week reports: Actiance’s partnership with Shoutlet provides companies with compliant social marketing.
  • Expensify integrates with NetSuite and Stripe, raises maximum expense report amount, and more.
  • Cardtronics announces agreement with BBVA Compass for branded ATMs in Texas H-E-B stores.
  • PayPal’s Pamela Rice joins OnDeck as SVP of Technology.
  • Azimo raises $10 million in round led by Greycroft Partners.
  • Freshminds explains how Tink, mBank and BBVA are “redefining customer centricity.”
  • Kashoo earns spot on ICT 2014 Ready to Rocket list.
  • Smart Data Collective highlights Quill from Narrative Science in a column on the business applications of artificial intelligence.
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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Azimo Raises $10 Million in Round Led by Greycroft Partners

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for azimo_logo.jpg

London-based currency transfer specialist Azimo just announced a pretty nifty currency transfer of its own.

In a funding round led by Greycroft Partners, Azimo has raised $10 million in new capital. The company plans to put the new funds to use in expanding Azimo’s European presence, as well as approaching new markets in Asia and North America.

Senior Associate with Greycroft Partners – and soon to be Azimo board member – Kamran Ansari said, “Sending money to the developing world has historically been an expensive hassle; Azimo changes that.”
Added Michael Kent, Azimo CEO, “this financing will enable Azimo to continue to grow our international customer base, and enhance our product offering.”
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“We are focused on opening new delivery channels for customers even if they do not have a bank account in the destination country,” he said.
Also participating in the round were Accion’s Frontier Investment Group, eVentures, TA Ventures, RI Digital Ventures, and KRW Schindler Investments. The new capital adds to seed round funding the company raised in September 2013, and dramatically increases the company’s total investment capital to more than $11 million.
A major new face in the international remittance market, Azimo makes it easy for individuals to send money simply, securely, quickly, and inexpensively to more than 150,000 cash collection locations in more than 190 countries around the world. All that is needed is a mobile device or a PC, and money senders can fund their transfers using bank accounts or debit cards.
Azimo was founded in January 2012 and launched its service later that year in August. At the company’s FinovateEurope demo in 2013, the company showed how users can send money via Facebook. See Azimo’s technology in action here.

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Finovate Alumni News– February 18, 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Betterment, BillGuard, BlinkMobile Interactive, CAN Capital, DeviceFidelity, Doxo, EyeVerify, Fenergo, FIS, Matchi, Personal Capital, planwise, Taulia, Wealthfront, Xero
  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgScotiabank selects Fenergo’s regulatory onboarding solution.
  • FIS announces partnership with Microsoft Cybercrime Center.
  • Azimo credits Indian expansion for surge in new cash pick-up points.
  • Betterment, Personal Capital, Wealthfront featured in Boston Globe column on personal wealth.
  • DeviceFidelity unveils RF technology behind its latest stand-alone, NFC microSD card.
  • Find Biometrics interviews Toby Rush, CEO of EyeVerify.
  • Vincent Turner, Planwise CEO, gives a closer look at the Planwise Solid Earth partnership.
  • Forbes examines how CAN Capital reinvents financing for SMBs.
  • City of Prosser launches on doxo to simplify bill pay and add mobile interaction.
  • BillGuard now offering free card monitoring for unlimited number of cards.
  • Taulia triples revenue growth in 2013.
  • BlinkMobile enters Europe, eyes U.S.
  • Xero adds a new chairman, director, and CEO of North America.
  • Matchi hires new CEO, David Milligan.
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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Finovate Alumni News– January 21, 2014

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Fenergo, GMC Software Technology, PayPal, SafetyPay, Swipely, Temenos, TransferWise
  • Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFenergo taps Stan De Schepper for SVP, Americas.
  • National Bank of Andrews, AimBank to adopt Temenos T24 core processing platform. See Tememos at FinovateEurope in London.
  • Business Review Europe takes a look at Azimo’s expansion into Austria.
  • GMC Software Technology recognized as industry leader in latest Forrester Research Wave report.
  • Technics and Time feature PayPal and TransferWise in list of ways to pay without your wallet.
  • Swipely unveils its “Winter ’14” release to extend its service to help restaurant and hospitality customers make smarter decisions.
  • SafetyPay signs agreement with Brazilian firm Privalia.
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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Finovate Alumni Raise $825 Million in 2013, Up 79%

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Affinity Solutions, Apprenda, Azimo, Bill.com, BillFloat, Cardlytics, Check, Clover Network, CoverHound, Credit Karma, CurrencyFair, DeviceFidelity, Doxo, Dwolla, ERN, Fenergo, FinanceIt, Flint Mobile, FTRANS, Funding, Heckyl Technologies, Jemstep, Kofax, Kony Solutions, LearnVest, Lendio, LendUp, Meniga, Moven, Narrative Science, Numbrs, On Deck Capital, OpenCoin, P2BInvestor, Payfone, PayNearMe, peerTransfer, Personal Capital, Ping Identity, Prestadero, Prosper, Q2ebanking, Receivables Exchange, SafetyPay, SeedInvest, Socure, SoMoLend, Spreedly, SumUp, Swipely, Taulia, TradeHero, Tradeshift, TransferWise, True Office, Trustev, Tuition.io, Wealthfront, Wipit, Xero, Zooz

FinovateFundingIMG.jpg

Cheers to a new year! After ringing in 2014, we wanted take a look back at the capital raised by Finovate alumni in 2013. It was quite a year, with alums pulling in $825 million, $365 million more than in 2012 for an increase of about 80%.
2013 funding summary:
    • 62 companies raised $825 million
    • Q4 had the most capital, with a total of $294 million raised by 17 companies (more than half by Xero, which landed $150 million). 
    • October was the busiest month, with $177 million raised (mostly Xero’s $150 million)
    • May was second highest with $91 million raised by 7 companies
2012 comparison
Last year Finovate alums took in almost twice as much as 2012, when 44 Finovate alums collectively raised $460 million. The chart below shows the quarter-by-quarter comparison for both years.
2013YearEndTable.jpg
Quarter 1 — blog post
More than $155 million raised by 14 companies
January — $57 million raised by 6 companies
February — $56 million raised by 5 companies

March — $42 million raised by 4 companies


Quarter 2 — blog post
More than $205 million raised by 15 companies
June — $81.7 million raised by 6 companies
May — $91.5 million raised by 7 companies
April — $32 million raised by 2 companies

Quarter 3 — blog post
More than $171 million raised by 22 companies

July — More than $63 million raised by 8 companies
August — More than $26 million raised by 6 companies
September — $82 million raised by 9 companies
Quarter 4
More than $294 million raised by 17 companies

October— $177 raised by 6 companies
November — More than $87 million raised by 7 companies
December — More than $30 million raised by 6 companies

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

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Finovate Alumni News– December 9, 2013

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Comarch, DeviceFidelity, Fiserv, GMC Software Technology, HelloWallet, NICE Systems, Realty Mogul
  • Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAzimo CEO Michael Kent talks about his company’s partnership with The Currency Cloud.
  • Realty Mogul named one of the 18 best startups of 2013 by Business Insider.
  • Bob’s Guide looks at Comarch survey to determine SMB satisfaction with business banking.
  • American Banker reports: Fiserv Releases Financial Crime Risk Platform.
  • 1to1 media features insights on customer service innovation from NICE Systems and GMC Software Technology.
  • Business Standard reviews Hello Wallet’s smartphone app.
  • NFC chip from DeviceFidelity earns commendation in this Forbes column on mobile 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.

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Azimo Makes Good in Expansion to Germany, Ireland

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo

Thumbnail image for azimo_logo.jpg

As Azimo said they would, the innovator in “social sending” is bringing its money transfer service to the rest of Europe.

Azimo announced today that it is launching in both Germany and Ireland. The move makes Azimo a new player in what the company calls the “world’s fourth largest remittance market” in Germany, while also growing Azimo’s presence in the U.K.

Said Azimo founder Michael Kent: “Azimo’s reach gives it a much larger network than many competing services and while this has taken a lot of time and energy to build up, we’re now in a position to expand into many more markets very quickly. The platform has already seen its customer numbers double every quarter since launch.”
azimo_homepage_de.jpg
Azimo’s news comes amid an increase in activity in the money transfer industry this year. Not only did Azimo recently announce completion of a new round of funding, but also startups like TransferWise and CurrencyFair (both Finovate alumni, as well) have raised capital from a diverse group of new and existing investors. The international remittance business has been estimated to be worth than $550 billion a year by the World Bank. Germany’s share alone is approximately $15 billion, said Kent.
Azimo is a money transfer service that operates in more than 190 countries and territories. With a PC or mobile device, users can transfer funds using debit cards or bank accounts. Cash can be received at more than 150,000 locations, as well as via ATM and courier.
Azimo was launched in August 2012. The company demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. See Azimo in action here.

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Third Quarter 2013 Funding for Finovate Alumni — More than $171 Million Raised

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo, Check, ERN, FTRANS, Kofax, LearnVest, Lendio, Meniga, Moven, Narrative Science, Numbrs, P2BInvestor, Ping Identity, Prestadero, Prosper, SafetyPay, Socure, SumUp, Taulia, Wipit

bagofmoney.jpg

The third quarter of 2013 revealed that even during the sleepy days of summer, the business of putting capital into the coffers of fintech innovators remained as busy as ever.

Finovate alumni were the beneficiaries of more than $171 million during July, August, and September. This brings the total year-to-date funding for Finovate alumni to at least $526 million (some of the funding amounts were undisclosed).

Here is the Q3 summary for 2013:

July — More than $63 million raised by eight companies
August — More than $26 million raised by six companies
September — $82 million raised by nine companies
Note: Fundings prior to a Finovate appearance not included. Questions? Comments? Email us at julie@finovate.com or david@finovate.com.

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Azimo Announces $1M Seed Round for European Expansion

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Azimo

Thumbnail image for azimo_logo.jpg

As far as Azimo is concerned, the “M” in Monday might as well stand for “Million Dollar Seed Round.”

FinovateEurope alum Azimo announced that it has raised “just over” $1 million in seed funding from existing investors.

The seed round was led by the European division of venture capital firm, eVentures, and included investment from Matt Cooper, founder of Capital One. The $1 million is slated to help the U.K.-based money transfer startup successfully expand to the Continent.

azimohomepage.jpg
The new funding puts Azimo’s total capital at approximately $1.5 million. The company announced an angel investment of 300,000 pounds ($480,000 USD) in January of this year. TechCrunch is reporting that Azimo’s European expansion will begin in Germany. Other nations targeted include France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Azimo provides a simple and secure money transfer service that allows people to transfer money via PC or mobile device in more than 125 countries around the world. Funds can be transferred using debit cards or bank accounts, and cash can be received at more than 150,000 collection points.
To celebrate the funding news, Azimo will be offering free money transfers through October. More on transferring money via Azimo available here.
Founded in London in January 2012, Azimo was launched in August of that year. The company demoed its technology as part of the FinovateEurope 2013 show in February.

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