Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • What Happens When a Lending Platform Goes Under?
  • Australian Challenger Bank Tyro Partners with Alipay.

Around the web

  • Coinbase leverages an electromagnetic signal blocking tent to secure assets from cybercriminals.
  • Klarna to provide pay later service for U.K. retailer, The Fragrance Shop.
  • Finastra to support fintech collaboration in the Middle East by joining Bahrain FinTech Bay.
  • AlphaPoint powers San Francisco-area, XRP-based cryptocurrency exchange, DCEX.
  • Check Point rumored to be developing a mini-firewall for IoT.
  • Bloomberg reports: Google and Mastercard Cut a Secret Ad Deal to Track Retail Sales.
  • Personal Capital launches “Retirement Paycheck” service to simplify retirement income.
  • Salesforce selects InvestGlass for EMEA fintech accelerator.
  • Black Enterprise profiles DarcMatter co-founder, Natasha Bansgopaul.

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

On Finovate.com

  • SocietyOne Appoints New CEO as it Nears $500 Million in Total Lending.
  • Dublin’s Leveris Picks Up Investment from Link Asset Services.

Around the web

  • Coinbase rebrands its crypto wallet Toshi as Coinbase Wallet; announces acquisition of Distributed Systems.
  • Experian unveils new integrated data and analytics platform, Ascend Analytics on Demand.
  • ID.me to provide its digital credentialing service to government agencies and healthcare organizations as a white label offering in 2019.
  • Kofax earns spot on the Constellation ShortList for Robotic Process Automation.
  • Biometric Update features Jumio, Mitek, and Onfido in a review of digital identity verification providers.
  • Breaking Banks highlights EverSafe in a conversation on how fintech is meeting the needs of an aging population.
  • Ad Exchanger: Cardlytics Says It Hopes To Expand Beyond Bank-Owned Media.

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

On Finovate.com

  • Feedzai Brings Automated Machine Learning to the Fraud Fight.
  • DriveWealth and Bambu Join Forces on Roboadvisory Tool.

Around the web

  • Your Legacy Federal Credit Union to deploy core account processing technology from Fiserv.
  • CYBG (Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank) partners with The ID Co. to integrate DirectID into CYBG’s B mobile banking app.
  • Coinbase unveils crypto plugin to make it easier for e-commerce merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments.
  • Bloomberg: Quantopian makes $50 million allocation to one of its quants.
  • OurCrowd named Most Active Venture Investor in Israel by PitchBook.
  • Jack Henry & Associates and Mastercard deliver Priceless Surprises campaign to 1.8 million cardholders.

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.

Coinbase Makes Buying Crypto Easier, Faster for U.K. Customers

Coinbase Makes Buying Crypto Easier, Faster for U.K. Customers

U.K.-based customers of Coinbase will be able to make same day deposits and withdrawals from their crypto accounts to their British bank accounts. The company has begun rolling out this support to Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Prime customers, and plans to extend the service to all customers in the U.K. over the next few weeks.

“Until now, the process of converting bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and Litecoin into euros and then into pound sterling, via international bank transfer, took several days,” Coinbase U.K. CEO Zeeshan Feroz wrote at the Coinbase blog. “Customers will now be able to transfer pound sterling and use it to directly buy and sell these cryptocurrencies.”

Feroz put the new opportunity in the context of other recent initiatives to make the company “the most trusted and compliant brand in the space.” He highlighted the securing of an e-money license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), support for the Faster Payment Scheme, and becoming the first digital currency trading platform to obtain a bank account with a major U.K. bank.

“Faster payments will benefit all U.K. customers, enabling almost immediate high-limit transfers” Feroz added. “This is essential for Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime customers in particular who will now be able to enter and exit their positions quickly.”

Last month Coinbase announced that it would enable its customers in Europe and Australia to buy virtual gift cards from more than 120 retailers using funds from their cryptocurrency accounts. In a busy spring for the San Francisco, California-based fintech, Coinbase launched a set of institutional grade solutions for digital currency trading in May; acquired digital payments for microtasks innovator Earn.com and added its first Chief Technology Officer in April; and acquired Memo.AI in January, bringing the chatbot builder’s engineering talent to the Coinbase team.

Coinbase demonstrated the Instant Exchange feature of its platform at FinovateSpring 2014. Instant Exchange enables merchants to accept bitcoin payments while avoiding exchange rate risk. Founded in 2012, the company has an estimated valuation of more than $1.6 billion.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Coinbase Makes Buying Crypto Easier, Faster for U.K. Customers.

Around the web

  • NuData Security embraces EMV 3-D Secure authentication.
  • Entersekt partners with Mastercard to enhance payment options for users of the Nedbank Money app.
  • StockTwits launches Rooms, a chat platform where users create new communities based on shared interests, specific stocks, or market trends
  • COCC leverages Segmint to offer data-driven marketing solutions for bank clients.
  • Roostify announces new Chief Financial Officer Eric Amblard, formerly of EverString Technologies.

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

On Finovate.com

  • Microsoft, Nationwide Invest $12 Million in SME Lender BlueVine.
  • Gusto Brings in $140 Million, Doubling Valuation to $2 Billion.
  • Tavant Technologies Powers New Personalized Mortgage POS System from Ditech.

Around the web

  • Coinbase taps Jeff Horowitz as its next Chief Compliance Officer.
  • Thomson Reuters announces strategic partnership with global cryptocurrency market data aggregator, CryptoCompare.
  • FIS and blockchain platform Billon sign letter of intent to pursue joint product development.
  • Prosper surpasses 1 million loans have been originated, totaling about $13 billion.
  • Kofax enters sales agreement with JIEC to deliver RPA and digital transformation solutions.
  • CurrencyFair surpasses milestone: €7 billion traded.

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.

Coinbase Enables European Customers to Buy Virtual Gift Cards with Crypto

Coinbase Enables European Customers to Buy Virtual Gift Cards with Crypto

Coinbase has enabled its European and Australian customers to use their hard-minted cryptocurrencies to buy virtual gift cards from more than 120 retailers.

“Making crypto easier to use, trade and spend is a core part of our efforts to improve the customer experience,” Coinbase U.K. CEO Zeeshan Feroz wrote at the company blog. “With the launch of e-gift cards, customers now have the option to spend their crypto balances, realizing its value to buy tangible things or experiences.”

The new offering comes courtesy of a partnership with U.K.-based WeGift, and lets Coinbase customers to use their cryptocurrencies to buy e-gift cards from retailers including Google Play, Nike, Uber, Tesco, Ticketmaster, and more. Customers in the U.K., Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Australia can take advantage of the feature now. Feroz indicated that additional retailers and markets will be added over the next three months. The company hopes to expand the service to customers in other countries “soon after.”

Coinbase is a digital asset wallet and platform that enables consumers and merchants to transact in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. With more than 20 million users and $150 billion transacted to date, Coinbase’s solutions include Coinbase Pro, a cryptocurrency trading platform for individual investors (formerly GDAX); Coinbase Prime, the company’s professional treading platform for institutional customers; and Coinbase Commerce, a solution to enable businesses to easily and securely accept cryptocurrency payments.  In addition to offering a digital API for developers, Coinbase maintains a venture fund, Coinbase Ventures, to support crypto-based startups.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase demonstrated the Instant Exchange feature of its cryptocurrency platform at FinovateSpring 2014.  Instant Exchange enables merchants to accept Bitcoin payments with zero exchange rate risk. Merchants instantly sell the Bitcoins they receive as payment throughout the day to Coinbase at the market exchange rate at the time of the transaction. Less a 1% exchange fee, Coinbase clears the dollar sum total for all sales by ACH transfer at the end of the day.

Earlier this month, Coinbase announced general availability for its Coinbase Custody solution, which combines a cold storage for crypto assets, an institutional-grade broker-dealer and reporting services, and a client coverage program. In June, the company opened its crypto index fund to accredited investors in the U.S., unveiled a new office in Portland, Oregon, and announced a new Japan CEO as part of an expansion into Asia. This spring, Coinbase introduced a variety of solutions geared toward helping institutional investors take advantage of digital assets, and hired its first Chief Technology Officer, Balaji Srinivasan.

With more than $225 million in funding and a valuation north of $1.6 billion, Coinbase is one of fintech’s more recent unicorns (companies with a valuation of more than $1 billion). Its U.K. office serves the hub for its Coinbase’s European operations, and is one of the company’s main engineering facilities outside of San Francisco. Brian Armstrong is CEO and co-founder.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Flywire Raises $100 Million for Global Expansion.
  • Five Degrees Acquires Icelandic IT Software Company Libra.
  • Yoyo Tops One Million User Milestone.
  • Coinbase Enables European Customers to Buy Virtual Gift Cards with Crypto.

Around the web

  • The Motley Fool interviews Q2 Holdings CEO Matt Flake.
  • AlphaPoint hires Kristin Boggiano as Chief Legal Officer.
  • Entrust Datacard unveils TruCredential 7.5 software that enables tablet and mobile-based capture and issuance of ID cards.
  • America’s Credit Union partners with Insuritas to launch member owned insurance agency.

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

On Finovate.com

  • OnDeck Scores $93 Million in Two Credit Facilities.
  • P2Binvestor Teams Up with Amalgamated Bank to Help SMEs Get Funded.
  • The ID Co. Unveils Open Banking API Platform.

Around the web

  • Carte Wealth Management to deploy advisor engagement platform powered by BlueRush.
  • CREALOGIX wins Best Web Front End Solution at the 2018 Systems in the City Awards for fintech in banking and wealth management.
  • Technology from Cognizant and Temenos helps Julius Baer complete core banking modernization.
  • Coinbase correction: No SEC approval received for acquisitions.
  • BehavioSec’s behavioral biometrics platform fulfills critical requirements achieving Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliance.
  • Roostify partners with Colonial National Mortgage to provide customers with a simple and intuitive online mortgage experience.

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

On Finovate.com

  • Sberbank in Slovenia Partners with Open Banking Platform Provider Token.
  • Equifax Acquires DataX to Promote Financial Inclusion.

Around the web

  • Wirecard and Mastercard collaborate to make contactless payments using wearable technology more accessible.
  • Roostify expands leadership ranks with new Chief Customer Officer, new VP of Sales, and new General Counsel.
  • VyStar Credit Union ($7.6 billion in assets) to upgrade core banking solution with technology from FIS.
  • Hyperwallet to provide mass payment distribution for content processing platform, Wordapp.com.
  • Premier America Credit Union ($2.5 billion in assets) to deploy core processing technology from Jack Henry & Associates.
  • Santander integrates nCino’s Bank Operating System.
  • Carte Wealth Management to launch advisor engagement platform powered by DigitalReach from BlueRush.
  • TechCrunch reports: Coinbase Reportedly Gets Approval from US regulators to Start Listing Tokenized Securities.
  • Ephesoft releases new Swagger/OpenAPI-web services for Ephesoft Transact.

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

On Finovate.com

  • Paysend Seals Deal on $20 Million Financing.
  • ezbob Lands Undisclosed Investment from Honeycomb Investment Trust.
  • New Investment Takes ThetaRay’s Total Capital to More than $60 Million.

Around the web

  • Cryptocurrency trading platform DXE chooses Mobile Verify from Mitek for automated ID verification.
  • Delano.lu profiles developer platform Hydrogen, recognized last month as the 2018 fintech startup of the year by KPMG Luxembourg and Luxembourg House of Financial Technology.
  • Benzinga interviews Unison CEO Thomas Sponholtz in the wake of the company’s $40 million Series B round.
  • Hypepotamus features Cardlytics post-IPO, interviews CEO Scott Grimes.
  • Bluefin and NCR expand POS payment security to provide PCI-Validated Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE).

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

On Finovate.com

  • Inspire FCU to Deploy Core Banking Solutions from NYMBUS.
  • Veridium’s $16.5 Million Series B Led by Michael Spencer.

Around the web

  • NCR and Advanced Fraud Solutions team up to fight check fraud at interactive teller machines (ITMs).
  • ThreatMetrix partners with Lumin Digital to improve security for online and mobile banking.
  • Bluefin to collaborate with NCR to provide merchants with fraud fighting solutions.
  • The dream of Coinbase is alive in Portland.
  • HiddenLevers moves HQ location from NYC to Atlanta suburb.

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.