KPMG, H2 Ventures Unveil Fintech 100 for 2017

KPMG, H2 Ventures Unveil Fintech 100 for 2017

It’s that time of the year once again: KPMG and H2 Ventures have teamed up to introduce their Leading Global Fintech Innovators roster, the Fintech 100 for 2017. The judges for this year’s Fintech 100 included more than 20 professionals from KPMG and other organizations with expertise in IT, data analytics, capital markets, financial services, and more.

This year 11 Finovate/FinDEVr alums made the Leading 50, with another 12 alums making the Emerging 50. New entrants to the KPMG/H2 Ventures roster include SoFi and Revolut among the Leading 50. All 12 the alums on the Emerging 50 are making their first appearance. See the full list.

Some of the highlights from the 2017 Fintech 100 include the observation that five of the roster’s top 10 companies are from China, as are the top three companies on the list: Ant Financial, ZhongAn, and Qudian (Qufenqi). The U.S. has a pair of companies in the top five: Oscar and Avant, and Europe and the U.K. each have one company in the top ten: Kreditech and Atom Bank, respectively.

Speaking of Asia, the Asia-Pacific region has 30 fintech companies in the top 100. The United States has 19 companies – the most from any single country – and the U.K. and EMEA areas have 41 companies in the list. The U.K. and EMEA region are also responsible for the highest number of companies on KPMG/H2 Ventures’ Emerging 50 list with 26.

With regard to sectors within fintech, the Fintech 100 breaks down as follows:

  • 32 lending companies
  • 21 payments companies
  • 14 transaction and capital markets companies
  • 12 insurance/insurtech companies
  • 7 wealth management/wealthtech companies
  • 6 cybersecurity/regtech companies
  • 4 blockchain/digital currency companies
  • 3 data and analytics companies

Alums from the Leading 50

Alums from the Emerging Stars

Finovate Alumni News

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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.

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  • PayNearMe helps NYC residents and visitors pay parking tickets with cash.
  • Mitek partners with handwriting-based biometric authentication service Asignio to deliver IDaaS solution.
  • Revolut announces plans to expand to Singapore.
  • Zafin launches digital origination platform and partner ecosystem, Zafin Origin.
  • Klarna expands partnership with Arcadia, adding new payment solutions.
  • Yoyo Wallet reaches processing milestone of more than 1.75 million transactions per month.

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

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Around the web

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  • Alpha Payments Cloud accentuates its end-to-end middleware technology in rebrand to Alpha Fintech.
  • Klarna completes acquisition of German online payment specialist, BillPay.
  • ID.me adds support for FIDO U2F (Universal Second Factor) Security Keys.
  • DefenseStorm wins 2017 IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results Award for Digital Trust and Stewardship.
  • Alpha FinTech (formerly Alpha Payments Cloud) and Market IQ shortlisted for inaugural FinTech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge in October. Join our first foray to the Middle East as Finovate comes to Dubai in December.
  • Hip Pocket founder Mark Zmarzly to help promote innovation and provide mentorship to fintech startups in Australia as part of new Queensland-sponsored initiative.

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 Celebrates Year-Over-Year Sales, Profit Gains

Klarna Celebrates Year-Over-Year Sales, Profit Gains

Klarna is having quite a summer.

On Friday the company reported sales and profit results for the first half of 2017 that represented gains of 21% and 138%, respectively. The strong financials come amid a series of headlines that show the Swedish payments company making strides on a number of fronts. This includes rumors that Klarna is partnering with Stripe to better access the U.S. market. Such a partnership would make Klarna the only non-credit card option available on the platform, and enable customers to take advantage of Klarna’s signature “pay after delivery” service. A deal between Klarna and Stripe also would provide what an anonymous source quoted in Nordic Business Insider referred to as “potentially an important piece of the puzzle” of Klarna’s plan for expansion in the U.S.

News of Klarna’s impressive first half finances – more than $254 million in revenue for Q1 and Q2 of 2017 (2.05 billion Swedish crowns), and operating profits of $28 million (228 million Swedish crowns) – caps off an impressive summer for the Swedish fintech. At the beginning of this month, Klarna unveiled its new P2P payment service, Wavy. The free service, available in both iOS and Android, enables Euro transfers between friends and family in more than 30 European markets. In July, Klarna announced receiving an investment valued at between $225 million and $250 million from a group advised by global investment firm, Permira. This followed a major strategic investments from Visa and Brightfolk announced in June. And, just in case you missed it, Klarna is also now a bank, having successfully applied for and won a full banking license from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority earlier this summer.

“Klarna has played a role in disrupting payments services for the better and now as a consumer-oriented, product-driven, and technology-intensive bank, we have the tools to drive change in retail banking,” Klarna CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski said when the announcement was made in June. “We will do this by providing solutions that ensure a smooth customer experience, help people streamline their financial lives and continue to support businesses by solving the complexity of handling payments,” he added.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and founded in 2005, Klarna most recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2012. The company has raised more than $521 million in funding, and has an estimated valuation of $2.55 billion. A member of CBInsights’ Fintech 250, Klarna acquired German rival, BillPay, from Wonga in February, and in January the company partnered with ASOS Partners to bring its “pay after delivery” services to consumers in the Nordic region. Klarna has more than 60 million customers and 70,000 merchants using its technology. Financial Times recently profiled Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth in a look at how young “unicorn” founders are turning toward social entrepreneurship.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Klarna Celebrates Year-Over-Year Sales, Profit Gains.

Around the web

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  • Asseco signs four-year agreement to provide support for the electronic bookkeeping system for Poland’s Ministry of Justice. Join Asseco next month in New York for FinovateFall.
  • Zighra Receives Patent for Proprietary AI-Powered Continuous Authentication Platform.

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

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Around the web

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  • Stripe to offer instant payments solution from Klarna on its interface.
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  • Xendpay launches Pay Day Initiative with no transfer fees or payment transfer limits.

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 Unveils Free P2P Payment Service, Wavy

Klarna Unveils Free P2P Payment Service, Wavy

Is there a fintech company having a more impressive summer than Klarna? The e-commerce innovator has forged strategic partnerships with and secured investments from Brightfolk, Visa, and Permira in the past two months. In June, the company added a full banking license to its assets, making Klarna “one of Europe’s largest banks” in the words of CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski.

By comparison, today’s unveiling of Wavy, a new, free P2P payments service is a relatively more modest move. Available in iOS and Android as well as online, the free app enables users in more than 30 European markets to transfer Euros between friends and family. Users connect their bank or credit card accounts to Wavy, and make transfers by generating a payment link which can be delivered over social media or to another Wavy account. That said, recipients can receive and redeem payments via their bank accounts without having to sign up for the Wavy service.  Users can pay requests for payment with EU-issued credit cards or SOFORT Überweisung.

Wavy is the product of Klarna’s collaboration with the developers of P2P payment app Cookies, who joined Klarna late last year in the wake of Cookies’ filing for bankruptcy. At the time, Klarna praised the app for its combination of social features and user-friendly interface, and credited Cookies for being both one of the first PFM apps to focus on younger users as well as the first to bring “near-realtime” money transfers to Germany. Lamine Cheloufi, Cookies co-founder and current Product Director at Klarna, called Wavy “the most accessible peer-to-peer payment service in Europe.”

To that end, and taking stock of the crowded market for P2P payment options, TechCrunch’s Romain Dillet suggested that Wavy might get an initial boost from Klarna’s popularity in its native Sweden. But listening to Siemiatkowski, it almost seems as if Europe is just a first stop. “There are no borders in an online context, why should there be in payments?” Siemiatkowski said. “Klarna was founded with the goal to make online payments safe, simple, and smooth. Wavy is another step on that journey.”

Providing single-click purchase experiences that enable direct payments, pay after delivery, installment plans and more, Klarna demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2012. The company was founded in 2005 in Sweden, and is currently headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Klarna’s solutions are used by more than 60 million consumers and more than 70,000 merchants in 18 markets globally.

Finovate Alumni News

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  • Alpharank Among Startups Graduating from VC Fintech Accelerator Empowered by FIS.
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  • Klarna Unveils Free P2P Payments Service, Wavy.

Around the web

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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 Announces Strategic Investment from Permira

Klarna Announces Strategic Investment from Permira

Less than a month after announcing strategic fundings from Visa and Brightfolk A/S, Klarna is back in the fintech headlines with news of a new strategic investment from a partnership advised by global investment firm, Permira. The partnership will acquire shares from a trio of existing shareholders – DST Global, General Atlantic, and Niklas Adalberth – in a transaction that will leave Adalberth as the only equity shareholder of the three. TechCrunch reports that the deal is worth between $225 million and $250 million, and estimates a valuation of $2.5 billion. They note further that Klarna has raised “somewhere in the region of $500 million in the last 7 weeks.”

Klarna CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski (pictured) put the new investment in the context of its recent brand new banking license, referring to the company’s growth from an innovator in enhancing the shopping experience to “a consumer-oriented and technology intensive bank.” Permira principal Andrew Young echoed Siemiatkowski’s sentiments, calling the company a “unique scale fintech innovator” for its work in e-commerce. “We see many vectors that will drive future success and with Sebastian, we look forward to supporting the company’s future organic, geographic, and acquisition growth strategies,” Young said.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Klarna demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2012. The company provides payment solutions for 60 million consumers and 70,000 merchants transacting across borders. Participating in 18 markets around the world, Klarna supports direct payments, pay after delivery, and installment plans via a single-click “purchase experience” that gives shoppers a wider range of payment options. Founded in 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden, Klarna noted 50% growth in recorded transaction volumes in 2016 – including partnerships with 17,000 new merchants.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Aire Pulls in $5 Million, Lands Partnerships with Zopa and Toyota Financial Services.
  • New Investment Boosts Betterment Valuation to $800 Million.
  • Klarna Announces Strategic Investment from Permira.

Around the web

  • PayPal extends partnership with JP Morgan Chase, providing greater payment options for consumers.
  • Taulia joins European E-invoicing Service Providers Association.
  • Persistent Systems agrees to acquires Swiss firm Parx Werk in deal valued at $16 million.
  • ID Analytics partners with Acxiom to strengthen risk assessment and combat fraud.
  • Dwolla adds Multi-User Feature to the Access API Dashboard.
  • Neener Analytics joins Plug&Play fintech accelerator.
  • Tavant selected by Fairway Independent Mortgage To Transform Its Digital Lending Experience.

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

  • Volkswagen Finance Arm Invests in AutoGravity
  • CASHOFF Earns Spot in Inaugural Innotribe Startup Challenge Russia

Around the web

  • Xero launches new e-invoicing solution for SMEs, Xero Connect.
  • Boku extends direct carrier billing relationship with Microsoft.
  • American Banker looks at Klarna and the rise of “high-tech, low-effort” online lending.
  • Xero rolls out automated Stripe reconciliation to match transactions to the Stripe statement line.

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.