Fidor Bank Opens its Doors in Dubai; Ge Drossaert Tapped as Managing Director

Fidor Bank Opens its Doors in Dubai; Ge Drossaert Tapped as Managing Director

Fidor_homepage_June2016

Munich-based Fidor Bank is expanding to Dubai. The move will enable the bank to better serve companies outside of Europe, and comes less than a year after the innovative FI opened offices in the U.K. Fidor CEO Matthias Kröner called the expansion “only a matter of time” given the growing number of inquiries he says his bank has received from companies in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. “The Dubai Silicon Oasis is an ideal location for this project, because it’s one of the biggest free zones in Fidor_GeDrossaertthe Middle East, with more than 1,000 companies already installed,” he said.

To lead operations in Dubai, Fidor Bank has hired Gé Drossaert (pictured) to serve as managing director. Drossaert comes to Fidor with more than 20 years’ experience in finance and IT, having worked as CTO of banking and capital markets for Asia, Middle East, and Africa for Computer Sciences Corporation, and as head of transformation and change at Saudi Hollandi Bank.

Fidor Bank received its banking license in 2009 and demonstrated its FidorPay-Account at FinovateEurope 2011. One of the world’s more innovative banks when it comes to technology, Fidor Bank was the first bank to deploy the Ripple protocol back in 2014, and was a winner of the Bank Innovation Award in 2013. More recently, Fidor teamed up with Telefonica Germany to launch a mobile bank account, O2 Banking, and earned a spot in The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame. Fidor Bank presented “No Stack Banking” at our developers conference, FinDEVr San Francisco 2015, and “How to Start Your Digital Bank—Mobile Apps and APIs Included,” at FinDEVr New York 2016 this spring.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Interactions Names New CFO”
  • “Fidor Bank Opens its Doors in Dubai; Ge Drossaert Tapped as Managing Director”

On FinDEVr

  • “BlockCypher to Developers: Your Ethereum Toolkit is Ready

Around the web

  • CU Times’ white paper features IDology.
  • Crowdfund Insider interviews Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana.
  • Bank of Newington and Cleveland State Bank deploy Core Director platform from Jack Henry.
  • Narrative Science partners with client reporting and communications software company, Vermilion Software.
  • Pirean opens local support centre for the Australia and New Zealand markets.
  • Insuritas to power insurance agency for Community Resource Credit Union.
  • VoicePIN opens U.S. office.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You an also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVrSV16-LogoV2(wdate)Our FinDEVr New York developer showcase last week was a success! FinDEVr Silicon Valley will be held October 18 & 19 in Santa Clara. Register today and save.

Developer news

  • The Financial Brand considers what is open banking and why does it matter?

On FinDEVr.com

  • “PIMCO Selects Markit and KYC.com to Bolster Onboarding”
  • “Symbiont to Help Delaware Embrace the Blockchain”

The latest from FinDEVr New York 2016 presenters

  • PYMNTS breaks down its discussion with PayPal CEO Dan Schulman.
  • “OutsideIQ Launches Real-Time Risk Monitoring Tool”
  • i-exceed Technology celebrates its fifth anniversary.
  • Technology from Fidor Bank to drive new mobile banking service from Telefonica Germany.

Alumni updates

  • Dallas Area Rapid Transit partners with PayNearMe to reduce cash handling by transit operators.
  • Entrepreneur profiles TD Ameritrade in a look at finalists for the Benzinga Fintech Awards 2016.
  • “Fiona Tee Takes the Helm as Currency Cloud’s New CFO”

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Fiona Tee Takes the Helm as Currency Cloud’s New CFO”

Around the web

  • Partnership between TransferTo and Barri Financial Group to enable real-time money transfers in El Salvador.
  • Green Dot launches online lending marketplace, Green Dot Money.
  • Technology from Fidor Bank to drive new mobile banking service from Telefonica Germany.

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 Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Finovate Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Fintech50_homepage_April2016

FinTechCity unveiled its new FinTech50 Hall of Fame this week at the Money 20/20 event in Copenhagen, Denmark. Finovate alums took six out of the ten spots.

The “founding ten members” of TheFinTech50 Hall of Fame are companies that “have featured on our radar since the days when they could reasonably be called startups,” say FinTech50 founders Julie Lake and Nicky Cotter, writing in The FinTech50 2016 Yearbook. “In recognition of their pioneering spirit and competitive staying power, we felt they deserved their own special place within a list of remarkable game-changers,” the founders wrote.

FinTechCity also presented The FinTech50 2016, its roster of the fifty hottest FinTech businesses in Europe. Of the 50 companies selected by the panel of more than 30 industry experts who poured over more than 1,200 candidates, a full baker’s dozen were Finovate—or FinDEVr—alums.

Read the full list.

Lake and Cotter called this year’s competition “the most hotly contested FinTech50 in its four-year history.” The founders also highlighted differences from the 2015 list, with this year’s roster featuring more companies innovating in “security, compliance, and risk.”

Also noteworthy was the number of European fintech companies from the United Kingdom (more than 30 out of the 50). The founders credited this to the U.K.’s broader access to funding, as well as the region’s local talent, and “favorable regulatory environment.” Lake and Cotter also praised other emerging European fintech communities in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Stockholm.

In addition to The FinTech50 2016 and its new Hall of Fame, FinTechCity also announced its FinTech20 India and FinTech20 Hong Kong. Finovate alums were represented here with Demystdata (FinovateAsia 2012) earning a spot in the Hong Kong 20, and Bank Bazaar (FinovateAsia 2012) getting recognition in the India 20. Lastly, The FinTech50 shared “The Hot Ten,” a roster of companies on their watch list for 2016. Here, Finovate alum, Ormsby Street (FinovateFall 2015), was recognized on that list.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVrNY16-V2(wdate)We’re taking our FinDEVr developer showcase to New York on March 29 & 30, 2016. Register today.

Developer news

  • Emirates NBD Group and the Open Bank Project launch a global competition for fintech startups.

The latest from upcoming FinDEVr New York 2015 presenters:a

  • Markit to deploy smart automation technology from WorkFusion.
  • Nerdwallet profiles robo-advisor Betterment.

Alumni updates

  • Spreedly secures $3 million financing round.

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVr2016-NY-(Stacked)V2

Building a new financial technology? Check out our coverage from our developer conference in San Francisco this fall, and mark your calendars for our spring developer event in New York, March 29 and 30, FinDEVr 2016.

Developer news:

  • BankNXT interviews Stefan Weiss, head of APIs at Fidor Bank, on the APIs, regulation, and expansion.
  • American Banker quotes Simon Redfern, founder of the Open Bank Project, in a look at the drive for open bank APIs in the United Kingdom.

The latest from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presenters:

  • Kashoo launches period-locking feature to lock data within prescribed timeframes.
  • CenturyLink and Cogent enter into interconnection agreement.
  • Deluxe Corporation celebrates its 100th birthday by ringing the opening bell at the NYSE.
  • Entrust Datacard’s Kurt Ishaug named 2015 CFO of the Year by Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.
  • The TRADE names Markit to its Hall of Fame.
  • Personal Capital lowers investment minimum from $100,000 to $25,000.

Alumni updates:

  • PRUDENA launches online marketplace for stock market research.
  • StockTwits offers brokerage functionality powered by Robinhood.
  • CardFlight announces EMV approval and certifications via TSYS for mPOS solution.

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter today!

Banking Technology Awards Recognize Finovate Alums

Banking Technology Awards Recognize Finovate Alums

PrintFidor Bank won in the “Best Use of IT in Retail Banking” category at the 16th Annual Banking Technology 2015 awards this week. Earning recognition in the Readers’ Choice component of the awards were Temenos, FIS, and Misys.

The awards ceremony was held last week in London. The winning companies were chosen from more than 120 entries by eight judges from the fintech industry. Readers’ choice awards were granted based on online voting results from readers of both Banking Technology magazine and bankingtech.com.

BT_2015Awards_group

Fidor Bank won with its Smart Current Account that offers customers easy onboarding, no credit check, no maximum balance, and a competitive interest rate. Deposits are insured up to the GBP equivalent of €100,000, and the company is running a promotion whereby every “Like” Fidor U.K. gets on its Facebook page increases the amount of interest paid to Smart Current Accountholders.

Talking about the launch of the Smart Current Account back in September, Fidor CEO Matthias Kroner told The Memo’s Alex Wood:

Customers will be able to do a lot more than just transfer money. Customers can move their money abroad, or move it into other services, such as savings bonds and eventually into platforms including P2P lending, precious metals, crowdfunding projects, and so on.

MisysIn the Readers’ Choice competition, Temenos won an award for Best Core Banking Product/Service; FIS won Best Payments Product/Service with its Clear2Pay; and Misys won Best Risk Management Product/Service for its FusionRisk Credit solution. All three companies were also winners of the Banking Technology Readers’ Choice Awards last year, along with fellow alum Fiserv, which in 2014 won an award for Best Financial Crime Product or Service.

Fidor-Bank-logoFidor Bank participated in FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco this fall, discussing its approach to No Stack Banking. The company’s last Finovate appearance was at FinovateEurope 2011 in London.

Temenos_FinDEVr2015_logoTemenos also presented at FinDEVr 2015, unveiling its B2B Financial Apps Marketplace, and earlier in the year demonstrated its Temenos Connect Mobile Banking solution at FinovateEurope 2015.

FIS LOGO WHITE GRADIENT 1.22.13FIS demonstrated its Cardless Cash solution at FinovateSpring 2015. Misys presented its FusionBanking Essence Digital platform at FinovateEurope 2015, and Fiserv introduced fintech audiences to its Mobility Enterprise technology at FinovateFall 2015.


Interested in fintech in the U.K. and Europe? FinovateEurope returns to London, England on 9/10 February 2016 for our next fintech conference. Find out more at our FinovateEurope 2016 page .

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVr2016-NY-(Stacked)V2Are you building new financial technology? Be sure to check out coverage from our recent developer conference in San Francisco. We’re taking the fintech developer tool showcase to New York on 29/30 March 2016. Stay tuned for details.

Developer news

  • Harvard Business Review: The Changing Economics of App Development.

The latest from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presenters

  • Aberdeen Asset Management selects Markit to value hard-to-price assets for positions with limited market data.
  • Developer reviews Authy’s two-factor authentication.
  • PayPal among the companies highlighted in Inc.’s look back at Money20/20.
  • Thomson Reuters unveils its new desktop platform, grouping all of its FX transaction venues into one single point of access.
  • Business Insider lists BehavioSec and Fidor as “companies we wish were big the U.S.”
  • Silicon Slopes Podcast hosts Ryan Caldwell, MX CEO, as he discusses how to improve online banking.
  • Thomson Reuters unveils latest version of its tax-technology platform, Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE.
  • Yodlee’s Ynext unveils new incubator class.
  • Business Insider names BehavioSec among the 12 hottest Nordic fintech startups.

Alumni updates

  • “Trulioo Selected as Runner-up for Startup Canada Award for Innovation”
  • Xero reaches 600,000 subscribers in 180 countries.
  • VentureBurn features Entersekt CEO Schalk Nolte.

Stay up to date on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.

Yodlee’s Ynext Unveils New Incubator Class

Yodlee’s Ynext Unveils New Incubator Class

Ynext_Yodlee_homepage_Nov2015

Ynext, the incubator program from Yodlee, announced its latest class. Featured among the eight startups is FinovateFall 2015 alum Hedgeable, the first private bank for millennials.

General manager of Ynext and chief strategy and development officer for Yodlee, Joe Polverari said his team was “blown away by the quality and diversity” of this year’s cohort, and that being involved with “such an impressive group of entrepreneurs so focused on innovation is what we love.”

Along with Hedgeable, the upcoming class includes:

As participants in the incubator, the startups will get 12 months’ access to Yodlee’s platform, a development team to help with API integration, mentorships from industry professionals, and activities in boot camps in the Silicon Valley area. Directing the class will be former Rutberg & Company vice president, Jeff Cain. Mohr Davidow Ventures, Canvas Venture Fund, Zendesk, RBS, Canaan Partners, Purch, and 1185 Design will provide mentors for the program.

Ynext is no stranger to Finovate alums. A trio of alums—Fidor US, DRAFT and Roostifygraduated from Ynext’s incubator class in May. Since then, Fidor has expanded to the U.K.; DRAFT made the finals of the BBVA Open Talent Competition; and Roostify raised more than $7 million in Series A funding and joined Wells Fargo’s accelerator.

Hedgeable was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in New York. Co-founders Michael Kane and Matthew Kane demoed NEXT, their wealth-management platform, at FinovateFall 2015.

Yodlee was acquired by Envestnet for more than $660 million, less than a year after going public. Based out of Redwood City, California, and founded in 1999, Yodlee is an alum of both Finovate and FinDEVr. Anil Arora is CEO.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVr2015LogoV2DateAre you building new financial technology? Be sure to check out coverage from our recent developers conference in San Francisco. We’re taking the fintech developer tool showcase to New York, 29/30 March 2016. Stay tuned for details.

Developer news

The latest from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presenters

  • Fidor Bank wins in two categories at BAI Retail Delivery’s Global Banking Innovation Awards.
  • WSJ features BehavioSec and Nymi in its piece, The Next Security Frontier: The Human Body.
  • PYMNTS.com takes a look at Currency Cloud and the latest update to its API, Payment Engine Two.
  • Worldpay’s IPO on London Stock Exchange is the U.K.’s largest IPO of the year, at a market cap of £4.8 billion ($7.3 billion).
  • Self Lender names MX one of three startups “absolutely crushing it” in fintech.
  • “Kabbage’s Fresh $135 Million to Help Grow Karrot Consumer Lending Platform”

Alumni updates

  • PocketSmith launches in Xero Add-On Marketplace.
  • Expensify launches new integration features for Xero.
  • Nymi recruits CEO John Haggard; Karl Martin will now serve as CTO.

Stay up to date on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “American Banker’s “20 Fintech Companies to Watch” Features Eleven Finovate Alums”
  • “Kabbage’s Fresh $135 Million to Help Grow Karrot Consumer Lending Platform”
  • “Hoyos Labs Unveils 4F Smartphone Authentication Technology”

Around the web

  • IDology makes an equity investment Payfone.
  • Insuritas to install insurance agency solution for MAC FCU’s 14,000+ members.
  • PocketSmith launches in Xero Add-On Marketplace.
  • Fidor Bank wins in two categories, Lending Club and Idea Bank both come in first, at BAI Retail Delivery’s Global Banking Innovation Awards.
  • WSJ features BehavioSec and Nymi in article “The Next Security Frontier: The Human Body”
  • mBank launches biometrics in its mobile application dedicated to corporate customers.
  • PYMNTS profiles Moven in the wake of its recent $12 million fundraising.
  • Markit unveils cloud-based, Know Your Third Party (KY3P) service to make it easier to manage third-party risk-processes.
  • Blackhawk Network and Stockpile partner to make eGift cards for stock available at select retailers in the U.S.
  • Meniga receives a World Summit Award for best technological solution in e-business and commerce.
  • TechCrunch: “Ping Identity Opens Up About Its Financials As It Eyes 2017 IPO”

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.