Funding

Aire Receives Funding from Accion Venture Lab

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Aire, Funding

AireHomepage2016

Aire, a startup that democratizes access to credit, received funding from Accion Venture Lab, a $10 million nonprofit initiative dedicated to building a financially inclusive world. The amount of the investment was undisclosed; the company stated it prefers to focus on the strategic partnership with Accion.

Aire boasts previous funding from Barclay’s Accelerator, Techstars, and SparkLabs Global Ventures. The London-based company gathers meaningful data about potentially credit-worthy clients via an online interview and other reliable sources. It uses artificial intelligence to process the data and qualify users for credit. The company also helps lenders by expanding the pool of qualified applicants.

Co-founder and CEO Aneesh Varma, who we interviewed earlier this year, launched the company in 2014 after he personally experienced the difficulty of accessing credit, despite being a credit-worthy individual. In a press release, Varma commented on the funding:

Accion Venture Lab has been very supportive of our research and product since our early years. I am really glad to have them come onboard now as we start our international expansion.

Aire, which launched its API at FinovateEurope 2014 in London, plans to use the funding to fuel international expansion.

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Fintech Fundings Q1 2016: 334 Deals Totalling $6.7 Billion

Fintech Fundings Q1 2016: 334 Deals Totalling $6.7 Billion
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding, Uncategorized

Money_quarterThe fintech funding slowdown is officially a myth. In first quarter, both the money raised and the number of deals increased sequentially and year-over-year. In fact, Q1 was the biggest quarter in both number (334) and value ($6.7 billion) since we began tracking in mid-2014. And it was probably the biggest ever, since things really started heating up in 2014.*

The 334 fundings were double the volume of Q1 2015. It was 31% higher than Q4 2015 and 21% higher than Q3, the busiest quarter last year. Deal value was also up 110% over Q1 2015, 56% over Q4 2015, and 3% higher than Q3 2015.

Below is the breakdown for the past seven quarters as tracked by The Finovate Group (see Notes & Caveats below for our methodology). For a full list of fundings by week, go here.

The bigger question is what happens for the rest of 2016 and beyond? Given the funds flowing into VCs, the overall tech budgets of big financial institutions, and the rewiring of financial services via APIs, SDKs and alt-this and -that, there could be many more shiney quarters ahead.

———

Global Fintech Fundings by Quarter

2016    Value      Number
Q1      $6.7 bil        334

2015
Q4      $4.3 bil*     255
Q3      $6.5 bil       275
Q2      $4.7 bil       195
Q1      $3.2 bil        171
Total $18.7 bil     896
————————–
Avg/Q $4.7 bil     224

2014
Q4     $4.1 bil       210
Q3     $2.1 bil       191

* The value shown for Q4 2015, excludes the $6.1 billion raised in IPOs of Square, Worldpay and First Data

———–

Notes & Caveats:

  1. There is no exact definition of what makes up a fintech company. We look for technology-oriented companies in the financial services arena, either providing services directly to consumers or selling technology to financial services companies. Our definition of financial services includes banking, investing, lending, trading, wealth management, insurance, cloud-based accounting for small business (SMB) and real estate. We also include any company that has appeared at Finovate or FinDEVr, because those companies are clearly targeting the financial services vertical.
  2. We are primarily tracking VC Equity and Debt flowing to private companies, although we also track equity raised in IPOs and follow-on rounds of public companies.
  3. We admit that our definition may not be exactly constant over time. It could be that at least some of the growth over time is that we have loosened our definition. It’s not intentional, but, hey, we love fintech and are always looking for companies to add to the list.
  4. This list is not complete. We primarily use the databases at Crunchbase, Finovate, FT Partners, and WhoGotFunded to find fintech fundings. If the funding went unreported in those databases, we are unlikely to have it.
——
Image licensed from 123rf.com

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Scalable Capital Scores $7.9 Million

Scalable Capital Scores $7.9 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Scalable Capital

ScalableCapHomepage2

This week Scalable Capital, a company that seeks to democratize investment management, closed on $7.9 million (£5.6 million) in funding. Subscribers to the round include Holtzbrink Ventures, Peng T. Ong’s Monk’s Hill Ventures, The German Startups Group and MPGI, all of whom contributed to the company’s first round of funding in 2015. New investors Tengelmann Ventures and Leonteq-founder Michael Hartweg also participated.ScalableCapDemo

Combined with a previous round in 2015, today’s installment brings the Germany-based company’s total funding to $12.4 million (£8.8 million). In a press release, Adam French, co-founder and managing director of Scalable Capital, discussed plans for the funding:

This new capital will allow us to continue building our business in the U.K. as well as support our operations in Germany and expand selectively into new markets. Our goal is to become the leading digital investment manager in Europe.

French (pictured above right) debuted Scalable Capital at FinovateEurope 2016. He began the demo by asking, “Does the world really need another robo-adviser?” and then answered his own question:

Where we fundamentally differ from the traditional wealth management world and the other players in this market is in the way that we manage your money. We’ve developed a risk management technology which was previously developed for institutional investors and … put it in the hands of retail investors.

Scalable Capital offers diversified and cost-efficient ETF portfolios. The company’s special sauce is in the way users select their risk preference. Instead of choosing from broad risk-categories (conservative, medium, and high) Scalable Capital quantifies the risk and attaches an institutional risk measure. The risk in every client portfolio is controlled by daily projections, and portfolios are readjusted if the risk limit has been breached.

Founded in 2014, Scalable Capital has received approval from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority and will begin operating with its first U.K.-based investors this month.

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Persado Pulls in $30 Million in Funding Led by Goldman Sachs

Persado Pulls in $30 Million in Funding Led by Goldman Sachs
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Persado

PersadoHomepage

Marketing messaging company Persado closed on $30 million in Series C funding this week. The round was led by Goldman Sachs and included an all-star cast of previous contributors, including American Express Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Citi Ventures, and StarVest Partners.

This is the company’s third round of funding since it was founded in 2012, bringing its total to $66 million.

The New York-based company offers software that uses algorithms to map emotions and create optimal marketing content for emails, websites, social media messages, and push notifications. It uses machine learning to determine the message that will generate the best response from the target audience. Co-founder and CEO Alex Vratskides says, “Persado is revolutionizing how organizations communicate by propelling creativity into the data-driven age, arming brands with ‘smart content’ that resonates with any audience, every time, and inspires them to act.”

At FinovateEurope 2016, the company’s Chief Revenue Officer Lawrence Whittle (below) launched Persado Go, an automated solution that offers business customers persuasive messaging in real-time via a self-service interface. In the demo, Whittle showed how a bank can create a marketing email to persuade dormant credit card clients to resume their relationship with the bank.

PersadoFEUIMG

In a press release, Vratskides said the company will use the funding to invest in product distribution and development. Specifically, he plans to deliver messages in more communication channels and to expand the service into more sectors, such as healthcare messaging and civic engagement.

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Fintech Fundings: 21 Companies Raise $460 Million Week Ending April 1

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money_keyFirst quarter closed with a bang as 21 companies raised a total of nearly a half-billion of new funding ($458 million), all equity as far as we know.

The total number of deals in first quarter was 334, double last year’s 171.  Total dollars raised in Q1 stands at $6.7 billion, also double the $3.3 billion raised in Q1 2015.

Three Finovate or FinDEVr alums, two of which presented at FinDEVr NYC last week (Betterment, Stratumn), brought in new investments:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 26 March to 1 April 2016:

Ceridian
Human resources, payroll and health insurance platform
Latest round: $150 million Private Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tags: SMB, healthcare, insurance, payroll, benefits, HR, employees
Source: Crunchbase

Betterment
Consumer online investment platform
Latest round: $100 million Series E ($700 million valuation)
Total raised: $205 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETFs, retirement, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Real Matters
Real estate transaction management technology
Latest round: $76.7 million ($500 million valuation)
Total raised: $136.7 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, real estate brokers, home buying, mortgages, insurance, title insurance
Source: FT Partners

Figtree Financing
Financing solutions for energy saving improvements at commercial properties
Latest round: $30 million Series A
Total raised: $30 million
HQ: California City, California
Tags: SMB, commerical real estate, energy conservation, lending, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Splitit
PayItSimple consumer credit service
Latest round: $22.5 million ($56 million valuation)
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, payments, credit, lending, POS, merchants, in-store financing, underwriting
Source: FT Partners

Blispay
In-store financing service
Latest round: $12.75 million
Total raised: $12.75 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, consumer lending, loans, POS, merchants, in-store financing, P2P, peer-to-peer, underwriting, personal finance
Source: FT Partners

LoanLogics
Mortgage loan quality and performance-maagement software
Latest round: $10.03 million
Total raised: $22.46 million
HQ: Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Tags: Financial institutions, mortgage brokers, consumer lending, analytics, underwriting, compliance, regulations
Source: Crunchbase

Swanest
Consumer investing service
Latest round: $10 million Seed
Total raised: $10 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer lending, investing, portfolio management, trading, wealth management, robo-adviser, Andreessen Horowitz (investor)
Source: FT Partners

Branch
Smartphone based alt-credit and underwriting for underbanked
Latest round: $9.2 million
Total raised: $9.2 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumers, SMB, lending, loans, underbanked, unbanked, emerging markets, credit, credit score, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Bluefin Payment Systems
PayConex payment platform
Latest round: $6 million
Total raised: $6 million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: SMB, payments, security, merchants, acquiring, FinDEVr alum
Source: FinDEVr

Wave
Suite of small business tools for payroll, accounting, invoicing, payments
Latest round: $5.07 million
Total raised: $44.77 million
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, accounting, bookkeeping, accounts receivables, payables, payments, billing, billpay, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Veritas Finance
Banking services for the under- and non-banked
Latest round: $4.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.5 million
HQ: Guindy, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, deposits, loans, payments, banking, underbanked, non-banked
Source: Crunchbase

Bitt
Bitcoin exchange and remittance platform
Latest round: $4 million Series A
Total raised: $5.5 million
HQ: Hastings, Barbados
Tags: Consumer, payments, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, Overstock (investor), mobile wallet, debit card, funds transfers, remittances
Source: FT Partners

Slice Labs
On-demand insurance
Latest round: $3.9 million Seed
Total raised: $3.9 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, consumer, insurance, mobile, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Homie
Peer-to-peer real estate marketplace
Latest round: $3.76 million
Total raised: $3.76 million
HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah
Tags: Consumer, home buying, residentail real estate, P2P, mortgage
Source: Crunchbase

LandBay
P2P real esate loan marketplace
Latest round: $3.57 million
Total raised: $6.72 million
HQ: London, England
Tags: Consumer, lending, loans, mortgage, investing, peer-to-peer, crowdfunding
Source: Crunchbase

HealthJoy
Consumer healthcare and payments platform
Latest round: $3 million Seed
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumer, healthcare, insurance, personal financial management, benefits, spending management, billing, payments
Source: Crunchbase

EDJ Analytics
Analytics platform for financial services and other verticals
Latest round: $2.4 million Series A
Total raised: $2.4 million
HQ: Louisville, Kentucky
Tags: SMB, enterprise, analytics, gamification, trading, investing, big data
Source: FT Partners

Stratumn
Blockchain appliction platform
Latest round: $670,000 Seed
Total raised: $670,000
HQ: Paris, France
Tags: SMB, enterprise, blockchain, bitcoin, infrastructure, developers, FinDEVr alum
Source: Crunchbase

iQapla
platform
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Madrid, Spain
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, robo-adviser, porfolio management
Source: Crunchbase

SwitchME
Loan price comparison portal
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, loans, mortgage, personal finance, price comparison, lead gen, discovery,
Source: Crunchbase

 

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Betterment Raises $100 Million Series E; Valuation Boosted to $700 Million

Betterment Raises $100 Million Series E; Valuation Boosted to $700 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Betterment, Funding, Fundings

Betterment2_homepage_Mar2016

Come for the $100 million Series E. Stay for the $700 million valuation.

Betterment, one of the largest robo-advisers in the U.S., has raised $100 million in a Series E round led by Sweden’s Kinnevik, boosting the company’s valuation to $700 million. Also participating in the round were current investors Anthemis Group, Bessemer Venture Partners, Francisco Partners, and Menlo Ventures.

Kinnevik CEO Lorenzo Grab described Betterment as both a fast-growing and “already established” player in the field of online asset management, and credited Betterment for developing “innovative and easy-to-use services.”

Betterment_stage_FF2011

Pictured (left to right): Betterment CEO Jon Stein and COO Eli Broverman demonstrating the Multiple Goals feature of the Betterment platform at FinovateFall 2011.

“Betterment shares many of the principles that have made other Kinnevik investment companies successful,” Grabau said. To this point, Grabau listed Betterment’s commitment to affordability, the company’s entrepreneurial spirit, and the idea of that businesses should contribute to their communities. “Everyone should have access to unconflicted and low-cost financial services that enable them to reach their goals,” Grabau said. Kinnevik reportedly invested $65 million of the $100 million total, taking home a 9.3% of share capital in Betterment.

From the perspective of Betterment CEO Jon Stein, it was love at first sight. “From our first meeting,” Stein said, “it was clear that we shared the same values of what a modern day financial company would look like.”

“Our goal is to become the central financial relationship for our clients,” Stein added. “Over the past year, we’ve made great progress toward that goal with features like RetireGuide and account aggregation, but there’s still work to do.”

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York City, Betterment demonstrated the Multiple Goals feature of its investment platform at FinovateFall 2011. Betterment provides investors with a globally diversified portfolio of low-cost index exchange-traded funds, along with personalized, goal-based investment advice. And more than 140,000 customers have invested more than $3.5 billion with Betterment since the company’s inception.

In January, Betterment launched its turnkey 401(k) service, Betterment for Business and, earlier this month, the company announced a new account aggregation feature that would enable Betterment customers to sync accounts at other financial institutions and see their full net worth via Betterment’s platform. In partnership with Quovo, Betterment made its FinDEVr debut at FinDEVr New York this week.

 

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Fintech Fundings: 28 Companies Raise $220 Million Week Ending March 25

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

pig_sunglasses_money_croppedFor the 12th consecutive week, there were 20+ fintech fundings worldwide. Total dollar value was $218 million, which includes $29 million of debt. YTD, the total number of deals stands at 313, double last year’s 158.  Total dollars raised, $6.2 billion YTD, is also double the $3.2 billion at this point last year.

The number of deals was inflated somewhat by the six new fintech companies launched at YC’s demo day that we had not previously covered. In total, there were 13 fintech startups (or 15 by the Bank Innovations definition), 12% of the total YC W16 class of 109.

Three Finovate alums brought in new cash:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 19 March to 25 March 2016:

Open Lending
Automated lending solutions for financial institutions
Latest round: $40 million
Total raised: $50 million
HQ: Austin, Texas
Tags: Enterprise, lending, loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Edgewater Markets
Foreign exchange aggregation & distribution
Latest round: $30 million Private Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: Institutional, SMB, foreign exchange, FX, remittances, treasury
Source: Crunchbase

Flexiti Financial
Point-of-sale financing for retailers
Latest round: $25 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, consumer lending, loans, POS, merchants, in-store financing
Source: Crunchbase

Maxwell Health
Payroll & beneifts platform
Latest round: $22 million Series C
Total raised: $56.4 million
HQ: Boston, Massachusetts
Tags: SMB, payroll, human resources, insurance, HR, benefits, healthcare
Source: Crunchbase

HomeUnion
Real estate investment marketplace
Latest round: $16 million Series B
Total raised: $21.5 million
HQ: Irvine, California
Tags: Consumers, lending, mortgage, credit, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

FriendSurance
Peer-to-peer insurance provider
Latest round: $15.3 million
Total raised: $15.3 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: Consumers, insurance, P2P, crowdfunding
Source: Crunchbase

GoCardless
Recurring billing services for small businesses
Latest round: $13 million
Total raised: $24.8 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: SMB, billing, payments, billpay, ebilling, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

Kreditech Holding
Banking services for the underbanked
Latest round: $11 million (last part of $103 million Series C)
Total raised: $366 million (includes $215 million debt)
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Tags: Consumers, lending, banking, underwriting, algorithmic banking, APIs, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

GrouPay
Payment collection services from groups 
Latest round: $10.9 million
Total raised: $19.25 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: SMB,SMB, billing, payments, billpay, ebilling
Source: Crunchbase

CurrencyFair
P2P international funds transfer marketplace
Latest round: $9 million
Total raised: $24.4 million
HQ: Dublin, Ireland
Tags: Consumers, SMB, remittances, FX, currency, payments, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Eliptic
Blockchain forensics tools
Latest round: $5 million
Total raised: $7 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, blockchain, bitcoin, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, fraud, security
Source: Crunchbase

CrowdStreet
Commercial real estate crowdfunding marketplace
Latest round: $4.92 million Series A
Total raised: $6.27 million
HQ: Portland, Oregon
Tags: Consumers, lending, loans, credit, underwriting, real estate, commercial mortgage, investing, P2P, peer-to-peer
Source: Crunchbase

Stocard
Mobile wallet
Latest round: $4.5 million
Total raised: $6.66 million
HQ: Mannheim, Germany
Tags: Consumers, SMB, merchants, payments, loyalty, rewards, POS
Source: Crunchbase

Jumio
Authentication services
Latest round: $3.7 million Debt
Total raised: $36.7 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: SMB, enterprise, fraud prevention, security, mobile account opening, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase, TechCrunch

Airwallex
Online foreign exchange services
Latest round: $2 million Angel
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: Melbourne, Australia
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Fina Zero
Lending portal
Latest round: $1.2 million
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: Sweden
Tags: Consumers, lending, credit, price comparison, lead gen, discovery
Source: Crunchbase

Front Desk
Mobile business scheduling, invoicing & payments platform
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $15.7 million
HQ: Seattle, WA
Tags: SMB, invoicing, payments, accounts receivables, accounting bookkeeping
Source: FT Partners

RSK Labs
Smart contract platform tied to bitcoin
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $1 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, security, authentication, bitcoin, contracts, legal, fraud, cryptocurrency, blockchain
Source: FT Partners

Aspire Financial
Connects marketplace lenders to institutional capital
Latest round: $750,000 Seed
Total raised: $750,000
HQ: Toronto, Canada (Twitter)
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Hockeystick
Financial data for private equity funds
Latest round: $600,000 Seed
Total raised: $600,000
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: Investors, big data, business intelligence, investing, capital markets
Source: Crunchbase

Creditseva.com
Credit management tools
Latest round: $360,000
Total raised: $375,000
HQ: Hyderabad, India
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

AlphaFlow
Real estate investing management platform for consumers
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: California
Tags: Consumers, investing, mortgage, lending, real estate, P2P, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Techcrunch

Emburse
Debit card with company-driven expense rules
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $ million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, expense management, expense reports, debit card, prepaid, accounting, bookkeeping, Y Combinator (investor), Community Federal Savings Bank (issuer)
Source: Techcrunch

Landed
Crowdfunding down payments for home purchase
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumers, mortgage, P2P, peer-to-peer, credit, peer-to-peer, real estate, HR, benefits, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Techcrunch

LendEDU
Student loan refinancing portal
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, price comparison, discovery, lead gen, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Techcrunch

Meter Feeder
Payment technology for parking meters
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Braddock, Pennsylvania
Tags: Government, payments, merchants, acquiring, credit/debit cards, mobile, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

Paystack
Nigerian online credit card processor
Latest round: $120,000 Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, merchants, acquiring, credit/debit cards, acquiring, Y Combinator (investor)
Source: TechCrunch

LiquidX
Marketplace for trade finance assets
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, enterprise, commercial lending, financing, commercial credit
Source: FT Partners

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Kreditech Lands $11 Million to Close Series C Round of $103 Million

Kreditech Lands $11 Million to Close Series C Round of $103 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Kreditech

KreditechHomepage2016

Underbanked financial services provider Kreditech has closed a Series C funding round of $103 million this week after receiving an $11 million investment from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), an organization that specializes in the economic development of emerging countries.

The Germany-based company received the first installment of the Series C round, totalling $92 million, in September 2015. That round was led by J.C. Flowers & Co. Other notable investors include HPE Growth Capital, Blumberg Capital, and Peter Thiel. The closing of this Series C round brings Kreditech’s total funding to $151 million.

According to TechCrunch, Kreditech is valued between $279 million to $335 million and the company is in the process of raising “another very large debt round,” which should close in Q3 2016.

Monedo

Kreditech will use the funds to bolster its Monedo platform that offers credit services and digital banking products to the underbanked population. The company’s CEO & co-founder Alexander Graubner-Müller states, “Most of our customers are not able to obtain credit at traditional banks … . Through Kreditech’s technology we can perform a more precise credit rating to offer credit at fair and risk-weighted conditions. With the new funding, we will continue advancing our scoring technology to continuously improve and expand our product offering.”

Kreditech uses 20,000 data points, updated every minute, to offer 24/7 access to credit decisioning for anyone in 35 seconds.

KreditechStageIMG

Kreditech’s founder and former CEO, Sebastian Diemer, and current CEO, Alexander Graubner-Müller, debuted Zaimo, Kredito24 and K24 at FinovateSpring 2014.

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CurrencyFair Raises €8 Million; Names New CMO

CurrencyFair Raises €8 Million; Names New CMO
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CurrencyFair, Funding, Fundings

CurrencyFair_homepage_Mar2016

P2P currency exchange CurrencyFair raised €8 million ($8.9 million USD) in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures. That brings the company’s total financing to more than €20 million ($22.3 million USD).

Also participating in the round were Proxy Ventures and Frontline Ventures.  CurrencyFair CEO Brett Meyers said, “Working with them will help us further develop our brand and the industry as something people and businesses can trust to save them money.” Meyers added that P2P currency exchange needed a “more mature voice” and that the new round of funding represented a “validation of the brilliant product and marketplace we have built.”

CurrencyFair_stage_FEU2013

Pictured: CurrencyFair co-founder and CEO Brett Meyers demonstrating his company’s iPhone app at FinovateEurope 2013.

In addition to the funding, CurrencyFair announced the hiring of former Unibet Chief Marketing Officer, Nils Andén, as its new CMO. As CMO of one of the largest online gambling businesses in Europe, Andén is credited for the commercial strategy that helped Unibet’s market cap grow from £300 million to £2 billion from 2010 to 2015.

Speaking about the similarities he sees between the P2P currency exchange market today and the online gambling industry when it was in its infancy a decade ago, Andén credited “the extortionate rates of the banks” as helping some of CurrencyFair’s rivals “make a lot of noise at the moment.” However, like Meyers, he said the industry is ready for a “more mature approach” as customers become more comfortable with P2P currency exchanges as an alternative to the banks.

“Style gets you noticed, but substance gets you remembered,” Andén said.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, CurrencyFair demonstrated its iPhone app at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. CurrencyFair won Best of Show for its presentation at FinovateAsia 2012.

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Fintech Fundings: 36 Companies Raise $480 Million Week Ending March 18

Fintech Fundings: 36 Companies Raise $480 Million Week Ending March 18
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

ideas_moneyAt Finovate, we are all about the next new thing. That’s why we love compiling the weekly funding report. Money (usually) flows to the best ideas (or at least the best execution). And if that holds true, 2016 is going to be a banner year as total deals are running double the pace of 2015—285 vs. 139 last year.

Last week, a record 36 companies raised $207 million in equity and $273 million in debt for a total of $480 million. The $6.0 billion total raised YTD is double the $3 billion at this point last year.

It was another busy week for Finovate alums with six raising new funds:

Here are the fintech deals by size from 12 March to 18 March 2016:

Future Finance
Alt-lender to students
Latest round: $170 million ($27 million Equity, $143 million Debt)
Total raised: $170 million (includes $143 million debt)
HQ: Dublin, Ireland
Tags: Consumers, lending, student loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Wheels Financial (aka LoanMart)
Alt-lender focused on lending against existing automobile titles
Latest round: $100 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Encino, California
Tags: Consumers, finance company, vehicle lending, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Connecture
Health insurance distribution platform
Latest round: $52 million (post-IPO equity)
Total raised: $75+ million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: SMB, financial institutions, insurance, healthcare, sales, service, policy management
Source: Crunchbase

Cumulus Funding
Personal loans repaid by share of income
Latest round: $31 million ($6 mil Equity, $25 mil Debt)
Total raised: $31.85 million including $25 million debt
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumers, loans, lending, underwriting, secured, income share agreement (ISA)
Source: Pymnts

Momo
eWallet & mobile payments
Latest round: $28 million Series B
Total raised: $33.75 million
HQ: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tags: Consumer, SMB, Goldman Sachs (investor), Standard Chartered (investor), payments, p2p transfers, money movement, merchants
Source: Crunchbase

LendInvest
P2P real estate lending marketplace
Latest round: $24.4 million Series B
Total raised: $58.6 million
HQ: London, England, U.K.
Tags: Consumers, lending, peer-to-peer, mortgage, crowdfunding, investing, underwriting, mortgage
Source: Crunchbase

Next Insurance
Insurance products for small businesses
Latest round: $13 million Seed
Total raised: $13 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, insurance, Finovate alum (founders)
Source: Crunchbase

Afluenta
Peer-to-peer lending marketplace
Latest round: $8 million Series B
Total raised: $10.8 million
HQ: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tags: Consumers, lending, credit, P2P, crowdfunding, investing, underwriting, loans
Source: Crunchbase

Floqast
Accounting software
Latest round: $6.5 million Series A
Total raised: $7.85 million
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Tags: SMB, B2B, accounting, financial management, account reconciliation, bookkeeping
Source: Crunchbase

Pave
Alt-lender targeting millennials 
Latest round: $5.6 million Series A
Total raised: $305.6 million (unknown mix of Debt/Equity)
HQ: California
Tags: Consumers, youth market, lending, loans, credit, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase, WSJ

P2Binvestor
Crowdfunded credit lines for small businesses
Latest round: $5 million Debt
Total raised: $6.4 million
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: SMB, lending, P2P, peer-to-peer, underwriting, credit, investing, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Instarem
International remittances
Latest round: $5 million Series A
Total raised: $5 million
HQ: Gold Coast, Australia
Tags: Consumer, SMB, payments, P2p funds transfers, remittances, fx, currencies
Source: Crunchbase

StreetShares
Crowdfunding small business loans
Latest round: $4.5 million
Total raised: $8.2 million
HQ: Reston, Virginia
Tags: SMB, lending, investing, underwriting, commercial loans, P2P, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

ChartIQ
Stock market charting tools
Latest round: $4 million
Total raised: $4.85 million
HQ: Charlottesville, Virginia
Tags: Consumers, advisors, financial institutions, data, analytics, investing, trading
Source: Crunchbase

SmartAsset
Personal finance information and advice
Latest round: $3.83 million
Total raised: $10.53 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, personal financial information, lead gen, home buying, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

CrowdStreet
Commercial real estate crowdfunding
Latest round: $3.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.85 million
HQ: Portland, Oregon
Tags: Consumer, SMB, lending, P2P, peer-to-peer, REIT, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Qumram
Compliance tools for digital interactions
Latest round: $2.5 million
Total raised: $2.5 million
HQ: Zurich, Switzerland
Tags: Compliance, online banking, session recording, transcribing, archives
Source: Finovate

Avyst
Independent insurance agent distribution platform
Latest round: $2.5 million
Total raised: $2.5 million
HQ: Aurora, Colorado
Tags: SMB, insurance agents, sales, marketing, distribution, service, quotes
Source: FT Partners

IFMR Holdings
Indian financial inclusion platform
Latest round: $1.9 million
Total raised: $26.9 million
HQ: Taramani, India
Tags: Consumers, underbanked, unbanked
Source: Crunchbase

Finomial
Investor servicing platform
Latest round: $1.78 million
Total raised: $5.19 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, investing, advisors, trading, alternative investments, funds, investor relations, compliance, marketing
Source: Crunchbase

Zlien
Lien rights management
Latest round: $1.3 million
Total raised: $3.5 million
HQ: New Oreans, Louisiana
Tags: SMB, lending, compliance, security, construction loan, home improvement, mortgage
Source: FT Partners

Tradesocio
Community platform for investors
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: Nicosia, Cyprus
Tags: Advisers, investing, social, marketing, sales, trading
Source: Crunchbase

Creamfinance
Alt-lender to consumers
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $7.3 million
HQ: Warsaw, Poland
Tags: Consumer, lending, underwriting, loans, credit
Source: Crunchbase

Expense Check
Smart financial search engine
Latest round: $750,000 Seed
Total raised: $750,000
HQ: Australia
Tags: SMB, B2B, data, analytics, financial management, accounting, suppliers, cost management, accounts payable, Xero (integration)
Source: Crunchbase, Financial Review

Ensygnia
Mobile payments & transactions
Latest round: $600,000
Total raised: $7.2 million
HQ: London, England, U.K.
Tags: SMB, merchants, payments, acquiring, credit/debit cards
Source: Crunchbase

Blockai
Digital rights management platform on the blockchain
Latest round: $547,000 Seed
Total raised: $547,000
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, blockchain, cyrptocurrency, bitcoin
Source: Crunchbase

Cachet Financial Solutions
Remote deposit platform
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $24.3 million
HQ: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tags: Financial institutions, B2B2C, deposits, checking accounts, mobile banking, Finovate alum
Source: Crunchbase

Mobetize
Mobile payments platform for telecom companies
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $3.2 million
HQ: Reno, Nevada
Tags: Enterprise, payments, mobile, carrier billing
Source: FT Partners

Wealthy
Investing tools
Latest round: $240,000 Seed
Total raised: $240,000
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: Consumers, tax-savings, investing, personal finance, financial planning
Source: Crunchbase

Cover
Insurance quotes via mobile camera
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: Consumer, SMB, insurance, quotes, mobile, photo capture, Y Combinator (investor), YC W16
Source: YCombinator

WorldCover
P2P platform providing insurance for the unbanked
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City

Tags: Underbanked, insurance, investing, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, Y Combinator (YC W16)
Source: YCombinator

Orderly Health
Healthcare transaction monitor 
Latest round: $100,000
Total raised: $100,000
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: Consumer, healthcare, spending, health insurance, personal finance management (PFM)
Source: Crunchbase

Ghaio Fintech
Personal finance portal
Latest round: $16,000
Total raised: $16,000
HQ: Brazil
Tags: Consumers, personal finance information, lead gen, advice
Source: Crunchbase

Emailage
Fraud solutions based on email addresses
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Phoenix, Arizona
Tags: Financial institutions, enterprises, security, fraud prevention, Wipro (strategic investor), Finovate alum
Source: FT Partners

Dimont
Loan administration services for residential & commercial lenders
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Dallas, Texas
Tags: Lenders, loan administration, service, compliance, lending
Source: Crunchbase

TaxTim
Tax preparation technology
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Cape Town, South Africa
Tags: Consumers, tax prep, personal financial management
Source: Crunchbase

———-
Graphic licensed from 123rf.com

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StreetShares Raises $4.5 Million in Series A Led by Fenway Summer Ventures

StreetShares Raises $4.5 Million in Series A Led by Fenway Summer Ventures
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, StreetShares

StreetShares_homepage_Mar2016

The Series A round for online small business lender, StreetShares, is off to a strong start with lead investor Fenway Summer Ventures putting $4.5 million into the company. The funding news comes just days after StreetShares announced that it had earned Regulation A+ approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), enabling the company to use public investments to back loans to small businesses.

StreetShares’ total funding stands at more than $8 million. Also participating in the financing round, which remains open, are Endeavor Equity Holdings and Pivot Investments.

StreetShares_stage_FEU2015

Pictured (left to right): StreetShares co-founders Mickey Konson, COO, and Mark Rockefeller, CEO, demonstrating their platform at FinovateEurope 2015 in London.

StreetShares, a P2P lending platform, specializes in connecting investors and small business borrowers from within the same community. For StreetShares, the first community it engaged with its affinity group lending approach were small businesses run by veterans and their families. Loan terms range from 3- to 36-months on amounts from $2,000 to $100,000, and the company charges a one-time origination fee of 3.95% or 4.95% based on loan term, risk, and amount.

An Air Force veteran, StreetShares co-founder and CEO Mark Rockefeller was interviewed by American Legion magazine last fall. The company added former SEC commissioner Troy A. Paredes to its board of advisors in November; in October, StreetShares announced a partnership with online marketplace, FedBid.

Founded in July 2013 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, StreetShares demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2015.

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Qumram Raises $2.5 Million to Bring Website Recording to North America & U.K.

Qumram Raises $2.5 Million to Bring Website Recording to North America & U.K.
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Qumram

QumramHomepage

Digital recording and archiving software provider Qumram raised $2.5 million (CHF 2.4 million) in funding this week. The funds come from Ariel Lüdi (former CEO of hybris software); Peter Stalder (former CTO of finnova AG); and investment group Zirkonia.

A group of investors from investiere.ch also contributed, furnishing almost 30% of the funds. In a press release, investiere.ch says it invested because the demand for Qumram’s services is growing, the company holds a good reputation, and it has a strong management team.

Qumram CEO Patrick Barnert notes that the company will leverage the funding “to extend the great success in central Europe to the two core financial services markets in the U.K. and U.S., and to further drive innovation within our product suite like Qumram Employee Governance Solution, which was first presented at FinovateEurope in London.”

Barnert added that the upcoming regulations, like MiFID 2 and FFSA, are driving an especially significant need for Qumram in the financial services industry.

The Switzerland-based company enables financial institutions to record their client’s online sessions to gather information for compliance, and to collect usage data to enhance the user experience. At FinovateEurope 2016, the company unveiled Qumram for Employee Governance, a solution that allows banks to carry out compliant, omnichannel communications and transactions with their customers over social media.

QumramSessionRecordAbove, Qumram for Employee Governance used for LinkedIn messaging

Founded in 2011, Qumram has 30+ customers across Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The company was included in the FINTECH 100 list published by H2 Ventures and KPMG. Additionally, Qumram received accolades from Accenture’s Swiss Fintech Award, having been placed in the final top three.

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