Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Bill.com Begins Trading on NYSE at $22 per Share.

Around the web

  • CIO Look interviews Rob Leslie, Founder and CEO of Sedicii.
  • Clutch’s top 1000 list names Chetu among best B2B service providers in 2019.
  • CustomerXPs wins the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award for ‘Most Innovative Use of AI and Machine Learning.’

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 Picks Amazon Web Services as Preferred Cloud Provider

Klarna Picks Amazon Web Services as Preferred Cloud Provider

Having already worked with Amazon in the past, Swedish banking firm Klarna has reinforced its reliance on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to increase redundancy and fault tolerance as it aims to scale its business, reports Alex Hamilton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

The company also plans to follow up the launches of its cloud-based Open Banking platform and customer authentication platform with additional on-demand products using AWS.

“Together with AWS we share a relentless focus on providing choices to consumers, so they no longer have to settle for the status quo,” said Koen Koppen, chief technology officer at Klarna.

“Our collaboration with AWS has helped us to rapidly innovate and create new services and applications that customers want, in a secure and seamless way.”

Andy Isherwood, managing director for AWS EMEA, added that Klarna is going to “change the world” with cloud technology.

“We have worked with Klarna for over a decade and it has been inspiring to see them grow from a Swedish startup to a global financial services powerhouse, using the secure, proven infrastructure of AWS,” Isherwood said.

Klarna raised $460 million in equity funding back in August, which at the time valued the company at $5.5 billion. Klarna reiterated at the time its intention to focus on an expansion into the U.S. market.

The company demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2012. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and founded in 2005, Klarna has 80 million shoppers on its platform and partnerships with 190,000 retailers around the world. Company co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski is CEO.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Vymo Brings AI-Powered Sales Coaching to Insurance Giant Sompo
  • Klarna Picks Amazon Web Services as Preferred Cloud Partner

Around the web

  • Trusted digital identity specialist Signicat partners with payment information service SurePay.
  • 24sessions opens doors at its first regional office in Paris, France.
  • Revolut for Business introduces support for GBP Direct Debits.
  • eXate joins the first cohort of the Velocity Birmingham Fintech Hub.
  • Temenos appoints Michelle Tea as Managing Director for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands.

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

  • Glance Powers Visual Customer Engagement for Axos Bank.

Around the web

  • Klarna added 60,000 new merchants in 2019,a group which now totals 190,000+.
  • Australia-based Heritage Bank signs 5-year services agreement with Diebold Nixdorf.
  • FIS integrates IBM’s Safer Payments solution with its P2P services to help prevent fraud.
  • Onfido partners with online currency exchange company b-sharpe to provide a better sign up experience using Onfido’s AI-powered identity verification.

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

  • INETCO’s Insight 7 Brings Machine Learning to Fraud Prevention.
  • Nubank’s User Base Soars to 15 Million.
  • Credit Sesame Appoints New Chief People Officer.

Around the web

  • Uwharrie Bank to leverage Fiserv for digital transformation.
  • Klarna to offer buy now, pay later options to Samsung customers.
  • TickSmith’s Marketplace Advanced Insights offers insight into how Nasdaq Basic Canada works in the marketplace.

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

Around the web

  • Sezzle announces its availability via Visa’s CyberSource payment management platform.
  • Klarna to open its latest House of Klarna pop-up store in Manchester next month.
  • German online lender Kreditech looks to expand operations in India in the wake of $22 million equity fundraising.

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

  • BNP Paribas to Deploy Dynamic Hedging Tech from Kantox.
  • Terafina Teams Up with Alabama’s Listerhill Credit Union.

Around the web

  • Klarna deepens ties with H&M to enable customers to shop now and pay later using the H&M app.
  • NICE’s AML and fraud SaaS solutions to power financial crime strategy for both anti-money laundering compliance and enterprise fraud protections.
  • Terafina to power Listerhill Credit Union’s omnichannel sales strategy and continue its digital transformation to increase member satisfaction and deepen relationships.
  • OurCrowd expands U.S. operations, opens office in Chicago.
  • ID R&D’s IDLive Face to power remote customer account openings and digital ID verification for Innov8tif’s EMAS eKYC.
  • ndgit and Synpulse launch international fintech marketplace in Switzerland.
  • Macrosoft joins Quadient’s Partner Advantage Program.
  • Onfido reports strong revenue growth momentum for Q2 2019; earns recognition from The Sunday Times as one of the fastest growing private companies in the U.K.

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

  • Twisto Raises $15 Million in Series B Funding
  • Finovate Global: Mexican Fintech Minu Makes History; India’s Namaste Credit Becomes a Neobank.

Around the web

  • Five Degrees adds OneSpan as a new partner in its Open Banking Marketplace.
  • Axiata Group Berhad and Telenor Group end merger discussions.
  • Klarna expands existing partnership with online fashion retailer boohoo group and its four brands.
  • Xero adds BP as latest partner for its Xero Connect e-invoicing solution.
  • Authority Magazine interviews Talbott Roche, CEO and president of Blackhawk 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.

King Klarna: New Investment Boosts Valuation to $5.5 Billion

King Klarna: New Investment Boosts Valuation to $5.5 Billion

An investment of $460 million in Swedish e-commerce payments innovator Klarna takes the company’s valuation to $5.5 billion, and makes it the largest private fintech firm in Europe. The funding will help fuel Klarna’s international growth, especially in the United States, where it has been gaining new customers at a rate of six million a year.

Dragoneer Investment Group led the round. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HMI Capital LLC, Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited, Första AP-Fonden (AP1), IPGL, IVP, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock also participated. Combined with the financing from a round this spring, the investment gives Klarna more than $1.2 billion in total capital.

For company CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the funding comes at a moment of great opportunity for fintechs like Klarna that are innovating in the area of consumer finance. “This is a decisive time in the history of retail banking,” he said. “Finally, transparency, technology and creativity will serve the consumer, and there will be no more room for unimaginative products, non-transparent terms of use or lack of genuine care of ones customers.”

Klarna’s Shop Now Pay Later approach to e-commerce enables consumers to pay for purchases at leading, brick and mortar retailers as well as with online merchants, with a variety of interest-free, no-fee financing offerings. These include a four installment payment option that charged every other week to the customer’s credit or debit card, and 30-day payment period that begins once the item is shipped or received.

Klarna has more than 60 million shoppers using its offerings, and 130,000 retailer partners around the world. Richard Watts of Merian Chrysalis Investment Company credited Klarna with providing its merchant partners with “considerable improvement in customer engagement and sales.” In fact, Klarna reports that merchants that are offering its four installment payment plan have experienced a 68% increase in average order value, a 44% increase in conversion v.s. cards, and a 21% higher purchase frequency.

“Klarna is one of Europe’s great fintech success stories and the company continues to develop truly innovative payment solutions,” Watts said.

The funding news for Klarna arrives amid a flurry of new service offerings, such as making its Shop Now Pay Later option available in-store, as well. It has also been a big year for products, from the launch of its global customer authentication platform to unveiling of its open banking platform. 2019 has also been a busy year in terms of partnerships: Klarna joined global fashion retailer ASOS in an expansion to the U.S., teamed up with U.K. fashion brand Superdry, and partnered with Canadian e-commerce and in-store point-of-sale financing company PayBright.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Klarna demonstrated its platform at FinovateSpring 2012.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Switzerland’s CREALOGIX Gets SaaSy.
  • King Klarna: New Investment Boosts Valuation to $5.5 Billion.
  • LendingClub Unveils Select Plus for Sophisticated Investors.

Around the web

  • Israel’s third largest bank Mizrahi-Tefahot to deploy core banking technology from Temenos.
  • Experian reports surging interest in Open Banking, with the number of API requests made in the U.K. growing by more than 2x since February.
  • Russia’s Tinkoff Bank to sell the speech recognition technology behind its Oleg chatbot to corporate customers.
  • LeapXpert earns spot in 2019 FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific.
  • Mortgage Cadence enhances data verification, fraud prevention and compliance with integration of DataVerify to its Enterprise Lending Center.
  • AT&T launches new bug bounty program in partnership with HackerOne.
  • Jumio takes gold in the Security Software category of the 2019 IT World Awards.
  • Lendio tops $1.5 billion in small business loans financed.
  • Ondot introduces Transaction Intelligence to make it easier for consumers to recognize purchases.

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

  • AccountScore and Validis Bring the Benefits of Open Banking to U.K. SMEs.
  • Emailage and Featurespace Target Online Application Fraud.
  • Business Valuation Specialist BizEquity Teams Up with UBS.

Around the web

  • ID R&D launches facial liveness detection solution, IDLive Face.
  • Klarna and global fashion retailer ASOS to expand to the U.S.
  • Banking and payments solution provider Contis deploys Featurespace’s ARIC Fraud Hub.

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

  • Ondot Unveils New Cloud Service to Help Smaller Banks Compete.
  • Urban FT Acquires Remote Deposit Capture Innovator CFC Technology Group.

Around the web

  • TransUnion launches its consumer data mapping solution, TrueVision.
  • Coinbase to offer exclusive trading data to all customers.
  • Plaid unveils its Liabilities endpoint to support development of apps to help combat student loan debt.
  • Signifyd announces general availability of its Signifyd INR Protection add-on, bringing coverage of item-not-received (INR) chargebacks to its fraud protection solution.
  • Klarna partners with Superdry to enable the company’s customers in the U.K. to pay later or pay in three installments.

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.