Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Intelligent Environments to Enable Online Banking with Emojis Instead of Passwords

Around the web

  • KeyPoint Credit Union ($1 billion in assets) to deploy Architect Banking Solution from ACI Worldwide.
  • Misys welcomes Simon Paris, president and chief sales officer.
  • Wipro introduces its e-KYC solution based on its AI platform, Wipro HOLMES.
  • The 42 looks at Lending Club and Zopa in its feature on why people “should embrace P2P lending.”
  • EverSafe celebrates “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day” with its top tips to prevent elder financial exploitation.
  • Business Insider previews the looming competition between Stripe and Klarna as the former enters the Nordic market.
  • Pacific Life chooses GMC Inspire from GMC Software Technology to improve customer communication workflow.
  • IR Magazine highlights StockViews in a column on how innovations in fintech impact investor relations.
  • NerdWallet turns to Trulioo CEO Stepehn Afford on the topic of protecting small businesses from cyberthreats.
  • Renaud Laplanche of Lending Club wins spot among Glassdoor’s Highest Rated Small Business CEOs for 2015.
  • The Seattle Times profiles LendingRobot.

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.

Klarna Hires Former American Express Exec as New CCO

Klarna Hires Former American Express Exec as New CCO

Klarna_homepage_June2015

Updated: Former American Express executive Michael Rouse will be joining Klarna as the company’s chief commercial officer. In his new position, Rouse will be responsible for new business development, revenue management, and global partnerships and solutions.

In a statement, CEO and Klarna co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski called Rouse a “perfect addition” as the company looks to expand its global reach. “We’re gearing up to become the world’s favorite way to buy,” Siemiatkowski said.

MichaelRouse_Klarna_croppedFor his part, Rouse called Klarna “the most exciting company in payments.” He pointed to the company’s ability to “leverage data from more than 35 million consumers” as key to Klarna’s ability to develop solutions that will improve the shopping experience for consumers and boost conversion rates for retailers.

Rouse’s seven years at American Express included executive responsibilities in global sales, business development, and marketing. In his final capacity at American Express, Rouse ran the company’s flagship loyalty program, Membership Rewards loyalty program, forging partnerships with companies like Amazon, Ticketmaster, and Uber.

Klarna was profiled recently in the Financial Times and The Independent, and the company’s head of expansion, Jens Saltin was interviewed earlier this month by StrategyEye. Klarna expanded operations to the United States in the fall of 2014, hiring Bill Billingsley away from Alliance Data to serve as Klarna’s chief executive officer for North America.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Klarna demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2012 in San Francisco. Some of the company’s key metrics are below:

  • Commands 10% of the e-commerce market share for Northern Europe
  • Operates in 18 markets
  • Maintains 1,200 employees
  • Works with 50,000 merchants
  • Handles 250,000 transactions a day
  • Serves 35 million total end customers

Klarna acquired SOFORT in 2014. SOFORT made its Finovate debut the following year at FinovateEurope 2015.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Klarna Hires former American Express Exec as New CCO
  • Knox Payments Offers Free, Premium Options and Easier API Integration
  • Finovate Debuts: A Look at Stratos’ Digital Card Issuance Platform

Around the web

  • PYMNTS.com looks at the launch of MasterCard’s MasterPass in Belgium.
  • Benzinga’s Jim Probasco interviews AlphaClone CEO Maz Jadallah on “investing like a hedge-fund billionaire.”
  • Adhil Shetty, founder and CEO of BankBazaar.com, comments on handling finances after a job loss in The Economic Times.
  • RIA Biz features BrightScope and its new plan to provide mutual fund data with the launch of Fund Pages.
  • SunGuard chooses Heckyl Technologies to provide sentiment and real-time news analysis for its MarketMap terminal.
  • A look at fintech innovation in Poland features mBank.
  • Management Today profiles Zopa CEO Giles Andrews.
  • Interxion partners with Microsoft Azure to enable users to connect directly to Microsoft Azure in the data center over a secure, high-performance private network.

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

  • “Finovate Debuts: Whodini Takes KYC to the Bluetooth Level”
  • “DriveWealth Hires Harry Temkin as New Chief Information Officer”

Around the web

  • PYMNTS chats with Morgan Beard, strategic marketing director at TSYS about how “Bring Your Own Persona” applies to banking.
  • Akamai Technologies partners with CU Cloud, China Unicom’s cloud business, to offer web performance, media delivery, and cloud security services.
  • TransferWise surpasses £500 million transferred worldwide every month, representing 2% of the U.K.’s global remittance market.
  • Money.com’s column on the secrets of crowdfunding success highlights Realty Mogul.
  • Financial Times profiles European payments innovator, Klarna.
  • GAINSCO Auto Insurance to provide agents with e-signature technology from Silanis Technology.
  • Wealth Management looks at the “new breed” of fintech companies specializing in alternative investments such as HedgeCoVest and Hedgeable.
  • Benzinga’s Jim Probasco interviews Sang Lee, CEO and co-founder of DarcMatter.
  • Edenred Mexico to deploy real-time transaction-monitoring and customer-analytics technology from INETCO Systems.
  • Market Prophit and TickerTags are featured in a Waters Technology column on the changing nature of market data.
  • HuffPo Business interviews TrueAccord COO Sofya Pogreb as part of its series on women in business.
  • Coin Telegraph lists Bitbond, Wealthfront, and TrueAccord in its roundup of “rising fintech startups.”
  • Tech.co looks at how Trulioo defends startups against credit card fraud.
  • How Motif CEO Hardeep Walia and Personal Capital CEO Bill Harris feel about the term “robo-advisor”.

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

  • “Ask Finovate: Who’s Who in Voice Banking Technology?”

Around the web

  • American Banker talks with miiCard CEO James Varga on how miiCard creates “digital passports” for consumers to prove their identities without oversharing information.
  • Pymnts considers Mitek’s latest acquisition.
  • Canandaigua National Bank & Trust hires Insuritas  to expand the bank’s existing insurance agency with its omni-channel, insurance-agency platform.
  • Payoneer expands presence in India.
  • LendingTree adds Ascend Consumer Finances to its personal loan-lender network.
  • EyeVerify partners with Olcsan CAD Technology to bring eye-vein biometric technology to Turkey.
  • StrategyEye interviews Jens Saltin, Klarna’s head of expansion.
  • The Telegraph’s column on the high cost of bank transfer fees highlights TransferWise.
  • T24 Islamic core banking solution from Temenos now available as cloud-based service.
  • Dwolla ditches the quarter, stops charging 25-cent transaction fee.
  • Arxan extends its application-protection platform to support apps built on Android on Intel Architecture.
  • Xero reaches 500,000 customers for its cloud accounting service, sets sights on 1-million-customers milestone.
  • VentureBeat names Prosper, Lending Club, and TransferWise in list of billion-dollar companies.
  • Finaeos forges partnership with Tata Consulting to help SMBs take advantage of Regulation A+ of the JOBS Act.

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

  • “Finovate Debuts: LoanNow Helps Borrowers ‘Outperform their FICO Score'”

Around the web

  • HedgeCoVest launches its real-time, hedge fund replication platform.
  • First Republic Bank to deploy virtual banking solutions from Q2 Holdings.
  • The Independent takes a look at Klarna and the power of micropayment.
  • oneID featured in MacWorld as a two-factor authentication app for the Apple Watch.
  • Allied Wallet now a supported online payment provider of Spreedly.
  • emX Select from eMoney Advisor now integrated with Dropbox.
  • Süddeutsche Zeitung features Trustly and Klarna (in German).
  • Bank Innovation profile on alternative fintech capitals looks at Iceland and highlights Meniga.
  • Ripple Labs adds former Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) CEO Donald Donahue as advisor.
  • A review of local fintech startups in the Boston Globe features Kensho and Quantopian.
  • Temenos wins “Best Core Banking System” honors from Banker Africa East Africa Awards 2015.
  • American Banker considers how Namu covers the emotional side of banking.
  • Entrepreneur lists Patch of Land as 1 of 100 brilliant companies to watch in 2015.
  • Pendo Systems wins awards from international financial technology publications, the New Jersey Technology Council, and SWIFT.
  • Asian Wealth Times: “Singapore’s MoneySmart to Launch PFM tools with Ewise”
  • Finaeos teams up with TATA Consulting Services to help SMBs take advantage of Regulation A+ of the JOBS Act.

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

  • MoneyHub: From Award-winning Startup to Enterprise-based Solution

Around the Web

  • Lending Club highlighted in FT Journal feature on “trickle-down innovation” in fintech.
  • Columbus Business First talks about Klarna CEO Brian Billingsley’s appearance on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV program.
  • Inman features Silanis Technology in a column on the growing use of e-signatures in mortgage lending.
  • Fort Community CU upgrades its Malauzai Software mobile SmartApp to support local rewards program.
  • Cinfed Federal CU hires Insuritas to launch its turnkey insurance agency solution.
  • FundAmerica launches its Invest Now button to provide compliant, friction-free capital-raising for crowdfunding platforms.
  • QuantConnect to offer its algorithmic trading platform via Tradier’s API.
  • Zooz and PayItSimple participate in Visa Europe Collab’s “100-Day Innovation Sprint.”
  • RealEstateTechNews takes a look at Realty Mogul and the launch of its new commercial real estate lending division.
  • Bank of the West redesigns, launches online banking service but on the Corillian Online platform from Fiserv.

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

  • DRAFT, Fidor US, Roostify to Present Solutions at Yodlee Ynext Incubator
  • $680 Million Raised by 29 Alums in Q1 2015

Around the web

  • BizJournals lists BancVue as one of Austin’s Best Places to Work in 2015.
  • American Banker interviews James Varga, CEO of miiCard, on sharing identity information.
  • Motif adds new trading alerts.
  • P2Binvestor selected as new network company by Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Colorado (BENCO).
  • MaineBiz takes a look at CashStar and its new offices in downtown Portland.
  • Mountain America rolls out its new biometrics login technology courtesy of EyeVerify.
  • Fuze Networks acquires LiveMinutes’ online workspace platform.
  • Jwaalla celebrates signing its 100th credit union client, Palisades FCU.
  • Business Insider looks at how Klarna and its one-click payment technology could help save the newspaper business.
  • Reid Hislop tapped as new chief marketing officer at Avoka.
  • Inc. Magazine features ID.me CEO Blake Hall in a column on veteran entrepreneurs.
  • Equities.com talks crowdfunding and real estate with Jason Fritton, Patch of Land CEO.
  • Financial News interviews Ripple CEO, Chris Larsen on the future of the financial infrastructure.
  • SocietyOne has originated more than $30 million on its platform since launching in 2011.
  • Prosper announces record first quarter, with $595 million in loans through the platform, up 200% from Q1 2014.
  • WattzOn to help Montana residents save on energy expenses via the Bozeman Energy Smackdown.
  • Larky selected by the Kentucky Bankers Association to provide mobile local rewards program for member banks.

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

  • “CardFlight Unveils EMV-Ready Chip Readers for SwipeSimple”

Around the web

  • Sonavation launches its IDKEY biometric security key that uses 3D Surface Scan Ultrasound technology.
  • CMSWire interviews Michael Laurie, co-founder and VO of product strategy at Silanis Technology.
  • iExpats takes a look at Azimo in a column on the costs of foreign currency transfers.
  • Arxan Technologies Security Solutions architect Matt Clemens talks mobile app security on Federal News Radio.
  • PaymentsSource’s look at “strange mobile security methods” features EyeVerify and Bionym.
  • IntelliResponse wins bronze at 9th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.
  • Jack Henry & Associates to be honored at Cedar Falls Business & Industry Association event.
  • Now Digital Network reviews Kashoo in column on ways to streamline small business accounting.
  • Computing U.K. features TransferWise and its use of big data to drive its social media marketing.
  • The CoinFront reports on Klarna’s “experiments” with bitcoin.
  • AMP Credit Technologies wins “Highly Commended Award for Best Initiative in Financial Inclusion” at the 6th Retail Banker International Asia Trailblazer Awards in Singapore.
  • TIO Networks now has 1+ million registered members in its direct-to-consumer user base.
  •  Taulia names Cedric Bru as new CEO.

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 Take Gold, Silver and Bronze at PYMNTS Innovation Awards 2015

Finovate Alums Take Gold, Silver and Bronze at PYMNTS Innovation Awards 2015

Sixteen Finovate and FinDEVr alums have been recognized by the PYMNTS Innovation Awards 2015. Three alums, MasterCard , Clover Network and OnDeck took home top honors in their categories, winning gold in “Best New Technology,” “Best POS Innovation,” and “Best Small Business Innovation,” respectively. The rest of the alum field earned silver and bronze in 13 additional categories, including LoopPay, which earned Silver for Best New Technology and a Bronze for “Most Innovative.”

InnovationProject2015_homepage

More than 600 companies competed for the awards, with more than 10,000 votes tallied. Finalists were selected by an expert panel, and the top five companies in each category were submitted to the “PYMNTS community” for voting. In addition to the Innovation Awards, the event recognized Phil Tomlinson of TSYS (also a Finovate alum) and Michael Joseph of Safaricom, inducting both into the PYMNTS Hall of Fame. Two women, Carey Kolaja, VP of Global Consumer Products for PayPal and Perse Faily, CEO of Tillster, were also recognized at the event. Apple took home the Innovation Award’s Catalyst Award for what MPD CEO Karen Webster called during the award ceremony, “creating a roadmap for the industry” with its ApplePay innovation.

The full list of winning alums is below. For more information about the Innovation Awards 2015, including the full list of all finalists, visit their page here.

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Finovate Alums Populate the FinTech50

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

FinTech50_homepage.jpg
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.

Alumni News– January 9, 2015

  • Thumbnail image for 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.jpgKiplinger’s list of five great free financial apps features BillGuard, Mint Bills, Level Money, SavedPlus, and Wallaby Financial.
  • Center for Financial Inclusion highlights Dwolla, Klarna, Kreditech, Receivables Exchange, and Wealthfront in its review of Australia Wealth Investor’s top 50 fintech innovators for 2014.
  • First Electric Cooperative deploying TextPower SmartAlerts.
  • WePay makes Bobs Guide’s “Fintech Startups to Watch in 2015” list.
  • Misys awarded SWIFT Certified Application labels for trade and supply chain management.
  • CrowdCurity launches newly designed website.
  • Time magazine lists Nymi as 1 of 5 most important things happening at CES 2015.
  • Forbes: Xero Wants All Small Businesses To Do Accounting In The Cloud.
  • Tradier releases Morningstar-sourced fundamentals APIs to beta.
  • Cachet Financial launches Co-Branded Option for Select Mobile Money Solution.
  • PYMNTS interviews CAN Capital CMO James Mendelsohn about access to alternative funding.
  • Taulia launches “Take Control” campaign to help companies better understand early payment solution.
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.