More Than 30 Alums Make Hot Topics 100 Most Influential People in Fintech

More Than 30 Alums Make Hot Topics 100 Most Influential People in Fintech

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If you drew up a list of the 100 most influential men and women in fintech, how many of them would be alumni of our Finovate/FinDEVr conferences?

The answer is about a third, according to Hot Topics, which released its list of the top 100 fintech influencers this week.

“More transactions taking place online mean more opportunities to help consumers manage their money in digital form: enter the fintech platforms,” wrote Joel Watson for Hot Topics. “Whether it be securing mortgagees, getting a loan, transferring money abroad, spending money in an ecommerce store, or one of a thousand other applications, the marketplace is fiercely competitive and growing all the time.”

See if you agree with who made the cut, who was overlooked, and who deserves at least an honorable mention.

Hot Topics is an online community of more than 300 entrepreneurs, corporate executives, venture capitalists, journalists, bloggers and other professionals interested and involved with technology.

 

Your Daily Distraction: FinovateEurope 2015 Demo Videos Now Available

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If you’re in need of a little distraction, we have good news. The demo videos from FinovateEurope 2015 have been released. All 72 videos from last month’s conference, along with the full history of Finovate demos, are publicly available on the Finovate video archives page. 

 
To get started, here are the seven Best of Show winners, in alphabetical order:

Avoka

Avoka

 

 

CoinJar

CoinJar

 

 

ebankIT

ebankIT

 

 

eToro

eToro

 

Jumio

Jumio

 

mBank & i3D

mBank & i3D

 

Meniga

Meniga

Feel free to download, embed, and tweet the videos to share your favorites from the conference, whether you were in attendance or not.

Alumni News– February 19, 2015

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAmerican Banker: Retail Banking Vet Deanna Oppenheimer Joins Tech Vendor Finsphere.
  • American Banker: Federal Payments Website Partners with PayPal, Dwolla.
  • Kantox Surpasses $1 Billion in Foreign Exchange Transfers.
  • Pindrop Security Raises $30 Million.
  • eToro launches its Popular Investment Programme to recognize and reward the network’s top traders.
  • Phroogal reviews Motif Investing.
  • MaxMyInterest brings consolidated tax reporting functionality to its cash optimization platform.
  • Encap Security CEO Thomas Boström Jörgensen and Ping Identity Managing Director EMEA Jason Goode weigh-in on Touch ID banking.
  • Digital Retail Apps featured in Toronto Star’s coverage of Canada’s first financial technology cluster.
  • Azimo launches its money transfer service in China.
  • Finsphere Lands $1.8 Million, Partners with Visa.
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.

FinovateEurope 2015 Best of Show Winners Announced

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If there is anything more exciting than the first Finovate conference of the year, it’s seeing who will be the year’s first Best of Show award-winning companies.

After two days of fintech presentations and demonstrations, our audience of more than 1,100 has shared its opinion on which technologies at FinovateEurope 2015 stood out from the rest of a truly impressive pack.

Here are this year’s winners, in alphabetical order:

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Avoka for its three-minute loan application that promises to deliver the fastest onboarding experience in the world.

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CoinJar for its technology that enables consumers to buy, sell, and use digital and traditional forms of currency any way they choose—from dollars to bitcoins.

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ebankIT for its omnichannel and social banking solution that maximizes interaction between FIs and their clients.

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eToro for its innovations in social trading and investing for Generation Y.

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Jumio for its credentials-management technology, Netverify, that turns mobile devices into ID document-scanning terminals.

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mBank and i3D for their interactive, digital retail-branch concept.

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Meniga for Market Match, its transaction-data analytics and enrichment engine.
As always, thanks to everyone who attended and participated in FinovateEurope 2015. We’ll see you next year!

Notes on methodology:  

1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.    
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”  
4. The seven companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show.  
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners. 

eToro Introduces Social Trading for Generation Y

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This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateEurope 2015.
eToro debuted its platform for the new generation of traders:
The company that started out as a gamifier of trades, introduced the world to its social investing network, and created the concept of CopyTrading, is now reinventing its own domain. eToro is introducing a whole new way to trade for the Gen Y population – social trading like you’ve never seen before.
Presenters: Yoni Assia, CEO and founder; Tal Ben-Simon, VP product

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Product launch: February 2015 at FinovateEurope
Metrics: £48 million raised to date from venture capital and private investors; 4 million users worldwide; 130 million trades on the platform since inception
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C)
HQ: London, United Kingdom
Founded: January 2007
Website: etoro.com
Twitter: @eToro

Finovate Alums Populate the FinTech50

Looking for the most innovative startups in fintech? The FinTech50 is a great place to start.

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It also turns out to be a great place to find Finovate alums. Of the 50 companies recognized by FinTechCity’s panels of judges as being “game-changers transforming the future of finance,” nearly half are alumni of Finovate conferences – including our upcoming event in London.
Here is the list of alums in alphabetical order:
According to Chris Skinner, who was one of the panelists, more than 700 companies competed for spots in the FinTech50. The selection panel included veterans of finance and technology from companies ranging from American Express and Google to Silicon Valley Bank and UBS. The FinTech50 winners were announced at an invitation-only event in London.
Speaking of London, Five Degrees, InvoiceSharing, Ixaris, mBank, and Trunomi will be in town next month, demonstrating their latest solutions at FinovateEurope 2015, February 10 and 11. More information on the event available here.

Finovate Alums Fill Ranks of KPMG’s Fintech Innovators for 2014

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Draw up a list of the top fintech innovators of 2014. Got it? Now tell me how many of your top 50 companies are not just impressive companies in their respective fields, but Finovate alums, as well.

If you are global accounting and consulting group, KPMG, then the answer is “more than half.”

Of the 50 companies recognized by KPMG in its 2014 review of top fintech innovators, 27 have demoed their technologies at Finovate conferences. And of that 27, 13 have won Best of Show at least once.
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The inaugural “50 Best Fintech Innovators” report is a joint venture between AWI Ventures KPMG Australia and the Financial Services Council (FSC). 
The companies chosen were selected based on four factors: total capital raised, rate of capital raising, degree of sub industry disruption, and “degree of product, service, customer experience and business model innovation.” 
Writing in an introduction to the report, AWI Limited CEO Ben Heap explained why fundraising played such a prominent part of the selection process.
“These assessment criteria reflect the fact that venture capital invested is a relevant measure of innovation which in turn fuels enduring competitive advantage,” he wrote. 
“Venture capitalists seek this enduring competitive advantage over and above everything else.”
Here’s a breakdown of Finovate alums in the list, in order of appearance, along with links to their most recent demo video. Boldface indicates Best of Show winner.
“Ones to Watch” 
See the full list of companies here.

Updated: New Investment for eToro Brings Current Round to $39 Million

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Update: April 23, 2015. eToro has just secured an investment of $12 million from CommerzVentures GmbH, the venture capital division of Commerzbank. Combined with the funds raised in December, the amount raised in this funding round is $39 million.

eToro has a total funding of more than $72 million.


In a round led by Chinese venture capital firm, Ping An Ventures, and SBT Venture Capital, social trading and investment network eToro has raised $27 million in new financing.

The funding takes eToro’s total capital to more than $60 million. Existing investors BRM Group and Spark Capital were also involved in the round.

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eToro CEO Yoni Assia pointed to the “deep industry knowledge” as one of the non-monetary benefits of the new investment. “We share a vision to empower retail investors all over the world to trade and invest in a social and transparent way.”
Mircea Mihaescu, managing partner of SBT Venture Capital, agrees with Assia’s optimism when it comes to social investing, suggesting that it is “part of a revolution started by eToro.” “eToro has become synonymous with financial innovation among members of Gen Y all over the world,” Mihaescu added.
The capital will help eToro accelerate expansion plans, particularly to new regions like China and Russia. SBT Venture Capital’s main partner is Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia and the third largest in Europe.
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(Above: eToro CEO Yoni Assia demoing at FinovateFall 2012 in New York.)
eToro has four million registered users in more than 140 countries using its trading and investing platform. The company’s social trading approach allows users to leverage the knowledge, talent, and experience of the network’s best traders and investors, while encouraging investing transparency, education, and even enjoyment.
Recent news from the company includes the addition of native sharing to its update to OpenBook for Android in October, having brought a new iOS version of the platform to market in July. In June, eToro joined four other Finovate alums on FN’s 40 Fintech Leaders list.
eToro (FinovateFall 2012) is based in Limassol, Cyprus, with a corporate office in London. The company was founded in 2007.

Alumni News– October 13, 2014

  • 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.jpgCompass Plus announced that its TranzWare e-Commerce authentication solution supports American Express SafeKey.
  • NewsRepublic features Toshl Finance in its roundup of five apps to help you organize personal finances.
  • P2Binvestor signs $1 million revolving line of credit from New College Capital Ltd of London.
  • InComm announces partnership with Virginia Department of Transportation to launch E-ZPass Reload Cards.
  • Xero earns number one spot in annual BRW Most Innovative Companies list.
  • eToro adds native Android sharing to its update of OpenBook for Android.
  • Silanis launches new partnership with AgencyPort Software.
  • eSeller features Boku in its review of top payment apps.
  • Misys inks deal to bring Russia’s Cinimex into its InFusion Partner Programme.
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.

Alumni News– July 25, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFox Business News features Kabbage’s small business lending process.
  • Huffington Post describes how DemystData’s big data analytics help evaluate creditworthiness.
  • Cartera Commerce’s CFO Karen Cambray named a finalist in Boston Business Journal’s 2014 CFO of the Year Awards.
  • Bloomberg: BillGuard programmers code in bomb shelters.
  • Coinbase launches Coinbase Vault to Better Secure Your Bitcoins.
  • MoneyDesktop appoints Brandon Dewitt as its first ever CTO.
  • SecondMarket CEO Barry Silbert stepping down in order to refocus his attention solely on bitcoin.
  • InvestmentNews features roboadvisors Jemstep, FutureAdvisor, Wealthfront, and Personal Capital.
  • The Irish Times looks at Holvi’s move into Ireland.
  • CMS Wire: Actiance wants to help companies curb social media mistakes.
  • Karen Webster of Market Platform Dynamics interviews Zooz CEO Oren Levy.
  • eToro announces new version of OpenBook for iOS.
  • Mobile Entertainment talks with Adam Levene, SVP of Strategy at Monitise Create.
  • LendingTree launches personalization platform.
  • Pymnts takes a look at the partnership between Malauzai Software and Trusteer. See Malauzai at FinovateFall in September.
  • Fortune.com interviews Bill Siegel, interim CEO of SecondMarket.
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.

Alumni News– July 3, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMisys launches new, modular core banking solution, FusionBanking Essence.
  • MicroStrategy, TIBCO listed among 16 most significant business intelligence software vendors in new Forrester report.
  • The New York Times Business Day interviews Adam Nash, CEO of Weathfront.
  • Wired Money startup pitch competition features Finvoate alums CurrencyTransfer and eToro.
  • Facebook chooses Braintree as sole payments provider for its FbStart program.
  • Tradeshift makes CPO Rising’s 2014 Hot Tech Prospect 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.

Alumni News– June 23, 2014

  • CEOs and founders from eToro, BehavioSec, TransferWise, The Currency Cloud, and Nutmeg earn spots on FN’s 40 fintech leaders list.
  • Bill Harris, Personal Capital CEO, featured on CNBC to Personal Capital and how it differs from robo-advisors.
  • Investment News looks at the humans behind FutureAdvisor’s robo-advisors.
  • Betterment adds municipal bonds asset class to make client’s non-IRA portfolios more efficient.
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.