Finovate Alumni News– July 25, 2013

Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

  • Silicon Prairie lists Banno and Dwolla as 2 Iowa startups to follow on Twitter.
  • Wakefield reports: Bolstr is navigating the legal complexities of crowdfunding.
  • PlayMoolah working with OCBC Bank for the second year running to teach children about saving.
  • FIS announces new prepaid card technology agreement with KeyBank.
  • WebrazziTV interviews miiCard marketing manager Cassie Anderson at Bitcoin London.
  • Finovate alumni Zopa, TransferWise, miiCard, and LICUOS highlighted in Innotribe co-founder Matteo Rizzi column on banking.
  • Invitations for Google Wallet for Gmail start arriving for registered early adopters.
  • All Things D profiles Motif Investing. See them in action at FinovateFall in September.
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– July 18, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgPennsylvania-based First National Community Bank selects a core banking system from Fiserv.
  • Check Point Software launches 13000 Appliance solution set for high-performance data center cyber security.
  • Accounting and advisory firm William Buck and Xero partner to offer clients Xero as accounting solution of choice.
  • eToro releases Stockwatch for Android.
  • StreetFight Magazine features case study of ShopKeep POS use in cupcake bakery.
  • IntelliResponse announces VAR partnership with Australia-based BolderView.
  • SeedInvest CEO Ryan Feit talks with the Street.com about the effect of fund advertising rule changes on crowdfunders.
  • Built in Chicago blogger profiles Pangea Payments and the trillion dollar remittance market.
  • 2013 Payment Hub report names ACI Worldwide “Best in Class” in payments capability.
  • InComm Launches Pre-Top to Expand Availability of Prepaid Solutions.
  • TransferWise featured in American Banker column on the growing online/mobile payments business. 
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– July 15, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgSafetyPay pulls in $7 million from International Finance Corp.
  • Xero releases Personal for iPhone, a mobile app for Xero Personal subscribers.
  • B2C looks at Dwolla as a challenger to PayPal.
  • Ad Exchanger lists edo Interactive and Linkable Networks as two card-linked offer providers.
  • Read our latest CEO interview with Oren Levy of Zooz.
  • Mint, Expensify, Ready for Zero, SigFig, and Personal Capital populate US News & World Report’s “10 Smartphone Apps to Boost Your Budget” list.
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

FinovateLOGO.jpg

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

*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.

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.

Finovate Alumni News– June 19, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBRE Bank, operator of mBank launches “new mBank”, which is based on Meniga´s PFM.
  • U.S.-based life insurance carrier expands use of Kofax solutions by investing an additional $550k to automate document processing.
  • Personal Capital introduces new dashboard features.
  • Bank Innovation visits Dwolla’s new office in NYC.
  • The Next Web reports: Simple launches its Goals feature on the iPhone.
  • Ping Identity named in IDG’s Computerworld 2013 Best Places to Work in IT.
  • Zopa cuts personal loan rate to 4.9%.
  • QuantConnect adds FX, US equity tick data; raises capital.
  • MicroStrategy to partner with Hortonworks to improve Apache Hadoop usability.
  • ixaris shows off its new look and rebranding.
  • Web AppStorm reviews Kashoo’s cloud-based accounting technology.
  • eDeposit teams up with DoubleBeam to integrate mobile account enrollment and eCheck deposits into eDeposits mobile payment network.
  • LICUOS named a finalist in the Next Bank Madrid – Innotribe Startup Disrupt.
  • Fox Business News features Arxan CEO Mike Dager on mobile banking security.
  • Better ATM Services CEO Todd Nuttall talks about the “real lessons” from the Cyprus financial crisis.
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– May 28, 2013

  • FinovateLOGO.jpgChris Larsen, CEO and co-founder of OpenCoin, calls Ripple, “HTTP for money” in CoinDesk feature.
  • Credit Union Times: ProfitStars‘ Director of Strategic Insight Lee Wetherington talks credit unions and big data.
  • Kalixa Group teams with MasterCard to test prepaid card.
  • Barron’s Electronic Investor column on Quantopian now available to non-subscribers.
  • Mateo’s Tech Travels reviews TransferWise.
  • Business Insider hosts Dwolla CEO Ben Milne in Startup Lab interview.
  • One of the largest financial services corporations in the world invests more than $4.6 million for software, maintenance and professional services with Kofax.
  • American Banker reports: Kabbage’s Fresh Idea for Small Business Finance.
  • TIBCO announces launch of Cloud Bus, a subscription-based Integration Platform as a service (iPaaS) offering.
  • BellaDati opening partner network in Russia.
  • IP Commerce closing payment processing service on June 30.
  • M2CASH rebrands as V2PAY, now offers electronic ID verification, virtual loan solutions, virtual cards & virtual merchant services.
  • Billhighway adds Kids Kicking Cancer as client.
  • Comarch to provide reference, market data to SIX Financial Information.
  • Standard Chartered launches VISA Infinite Credit Card with chip and PIN 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.

Finovate Alumni News– May 6, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBraintree’s Bryan Johnson provides columnist James Altucher with an example of “how to go from $0 to $1,000,000 in two years.” See Braintree demo at FinovateSpring in San Francisco.
  • TransactionAge takes a look at Klarna as an alternative to Google Wallet.
  • Digital Mailer’s My Virtual StrongBox deployed by Redstone Federal Credit Union.
  • Investment News features Finect, a social network for financial advisors. Join them in San Francisco for FinovateSpring.
  • miiCard partners with Bitcoin Exchange Platform, Tradehill.
  • Innovation Agency updates Innovation Café to support formal judging process and integrated rewards payment process.
  • TIO Networks announces partnership with mobile app developer iFactor Consulting.
  • Bloomberg Businessweek reports: On Deck Capital Targets Businesses Banks Won’t Touch.
  • David Barrett, Expensify CEO, interviewed on SkyNews to talk about Bitcoin. Come check out what’s new at Expensify at FinovateSpring next week.
  • Best Vendor profiles Gremln. See them in action at FinovateSpring in San Francisco.
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– May 3, 2013

  • Newfination hosts Coverhound CEO Basil Enan who talks about its online insurance service.
  • ProgrammableWeb interviews Michael Sconfield, Developer Evangelist of Dwolla API.
  • Caribbean360 reports that the Inter-American Development Bank is testing Entrepreneurial Finance Lab’s psychometric method of testing creditworthiness.
  • Fort Mill Times takes a look at TipRanks. See them demo at FinovateSpring in San Francisco.
  • Bazaarvoice appoints former Convio Inc. CEO Gene Austin as president.
  • PayMobl reviews Pageonce mobile bill payment app.
  • Innovation Agency launches new features for Innovation Café to make it easier to manage and keep users up to date
  • Realty Mogul wins top honors at Founder Showcase pitch competition.
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.

Dwolla Receives $16.5 Million in Series C Funding, Its Biggest Investment Yet

DwollaLogo.jpg

Yesterday, payment network Dwolla announced it received its largest investment so far, $16.5 million in funding.

This Series C round was led by Andreessen Horowitz who’s Partner, Scott Weiss, has joined Dwolla’s board. 

DwollaPlatformsimg.jpg

Additional investors include:

    • Village Ventures
    • Thrive Capital
    • Union Square Ventures

The new installment brings Dwolla’s total funding to just under $23 million. The Iowa-based startup plans to use the new round to grow business development to larger customers.

Four previous rounds include:

    • Angel, November 2009: $250k
    • Grant, March 2010: $55k
    • Series A November 2010: $1 million
    • Series B February 2012: $5 million

In its coverage, TechCrunch reports some of Dwolla’s recent growth figures:

    • Annual transaction processing run rate is a billion dollars
    • It has 250k account holders. This is up from 80k in early 2012.
    • It has more than 100 large customers
    • It will open its fifth office, located in San Francisco, this June

To learn more about Dwolla, check out its live demo from FinovateSpring 2012.

Zooz Closes $2 Million Series A Round Led by XSeed Capital

Zooz_logo.jpg

Product development and building partnerships with retailers are at the top of the To-Do List for mobile payment innovator, Zooz, as the company announces the conclusion of a productive round of venture capital funding.

The $2 million in capital from XSeed and others puts Zooz’s total capital raised at $3.5 million. The company raised $1.5 million in seed funding in January 2012.

Zooz’s payment platform is designed to help merchants improve and get more out of the transactions that go through their websites and mobile apps. The company’s solution provides one tap checkout, actionable analytics that provide merchant-specific suggestions, and “device-centric” security and fraud prevention.

Zooz currently has partnerships with companies like MasterCard and First Data, as well as with Finovate alumni like Dwolla, Klarna, and PayPal. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Israel, Zooz is led by co-founders Oren Levy (CEO) and Ronen Morecki (CTO).

Zooz is one of the companies that will be demonstrating their technology at FinovateSpring in San Francisco in May. To learn more about the event, including information on how to purchase tickets and save your spot, visit our FinovateSpring page here.

Finovate Alumni News– April 17, 2013

  • Webmasterchecks drops PayPal and makes Dwolla its exclusive payment service provider.
  • Mobile World Live considers Braintree’s offline strategy. Come to FinovateSpring to check out its live demo.
  • Kony Solutions talks to banks about selling shares in a public offering as early as this year.
  • Xero releases updates that facilitate payroll reporting.
  • Chicago Tribune takes a look at TipRanks. Join TipRanks in San Francisco in May for FinovateSpring.
  • Alliance Data Retail Services reports on its geofence pilot program with Locaid.
  • EyeVerify wins third eyeprint patent for its mobile security technology. See them demo at FinovateSpring.
  • ACI Worldwide announces latest version of ACI Issuer, a cost-savings solution for card-issuing and account management.
  • Actiance partners with Symantec to provide integrated compliance, eDiscovery and archiving for social business.
  • BrightScope brings Nerd’s Eye View publisher Michael Kitces to its advisory board.
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.