Check Out Who Took Home Top Honors at Last Night’s European Fintech Awards

Check Out Who Took Home Top Honors at Last Night’s European Fintech Awards
GroupPhoto(Photo credit: http://www.fintech.nl/)

Last night in Amsterdam the 2016 European Fintech Awards celebrated innovators shaping the future of finance. A total of nine awards were presented to companies selected by a panel of judges for the quality of their pitch.

Four of the winners are Finovate and FinDEVr alums, including BehavioSec, who won the overall award of Best European Fintech Company of 2016:

BehavioSec
Category: Risk, Intelligence, and Security
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Founded: 2009
FinovateFall 2015 demo
FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presentation

Backbase
Category: Innovative Banking Software
HQ: The Netherlands
Founded: 2003
FinovateEurope 2016 demo

Kreditech
Category: Financial Inclusion
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Founded: 2012
FinovateSpring 2014 demo

Xpenditure
Category: Best of Show, selected for the best pitch
HQ: Mechelen, Belgium
Founded: 2011
FinovateEurope 2016 demo

A total of 29 Finovate and FinDEVr alums were recognized in the European Fintech Top 100 list. Companies awarded on this list were selected by a combination of online public votes (weighted 25%) and a panel of judges (weighted 75%).

  • AdviceGames
  • Kantox
  • Aire.io
  • Klarna
  • AMP Credit Technologies
  • Kontomatik
  • Azimo
  • Kreditech
  • Backbase
  • Mambu
  • BehavioSec
  • mBank
  • Cloud Lending Solutions
  • Meniga
  • ebankIT
  • Nutmeg
  • eToro
  • Qumram
  • ETRONIKA
  • Scalable Capital
  • eWise
  • SmartEngine
  • Fenergo
  • TransferWise
  • Holvi
  • Trustly
  • IdeaBank
  • Zopa
  • InvoiceSharing

The European Fintech Awards are organized by Amsterdam-based publishing company Alex van Groningen BV. The company offers a great explanation of the awards: “The purpose of the FinTech awards is not to scientifically prove who are the best FinTech companies. The judging is primarily based on the judges’ individual ideas and views on the nominating companies using their expertise, knowledge and ideas.”

Finovate Alums Make Tech Tour’s 50 High Growth European Companies

Finovate Alums Make Tech Tour’s 50 High Growth European Companies

TechTourGrowth50_2016Tech Tour recognized seven Finovate alums in its 2016 Tech Tour Growth 50 (TTG50), a roster of the fastest-growing technology companies in Europe. Making this year’s cut were:

Managing Director of The Tech Tour William Stevens said that recognizing these companies was important in a world otherwise focused on “the billion-dollar unicorn successes.” He pointed out that the Tech Tour Growth 50 companies had “created more than 8,000 high-tech jobs, attracted $3.5 billion of investment, and have an estimated combined valuation of $14.2 billion.”

“This is a clear demonstration of Europe’s strength, potential and competitiveness in scaling-up tech businesses,” Stevens said.

A few additional metrics on the companies of the 2016 Tech Tour Growth 50:

  • 90%: percent founded in the last 10 years.
  • 22 months: the average time from formation to first funding
  • 66%: percent with at least one U.S. investor

This year’s list was chosen by a selection committee chaired by Jean-Michel Deligny, managing director of Silverpeak Investment Bank. Serving on the committee were representatives of:

  • Accel Partners
  • Amadeus Capital Partners
  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch
  • DN Capital
  • Earlybird
  • Highland Capital Partners Europe
  • Idinvest Partners
  • The World Economic Forum.

Companies for the TTTG50 were chosen based on “innovation potential, management team, and pedigree,” as well as factors such as sales growth. Candidates were required to have a minimum of €10 million in revenue, €20 million in total funding, and a valuation of at least €100 million but less than €1 billion.

The Tech Tour was founded in 1998 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

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

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

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Debuts: OutsideIQ Heralds a Revolution in Due Diligence with DDIQ for Onboarding”
  • “Stephen Ritter Joins Mitek as Chief Technology Officer”
  • “Kreditech Lands $11 Million to Close Series C Round of $103 Million”
  • “Finovate Debuts: Valuto’s Open API Offers Multi-Currency Accounts”

On FinDEVr.com

  • “Destination FinDEVr: A Geography of Architects, Builders, and Engineers”

Around the web

  • CU Anytime to deploy channel management software solution from NCR and INETCO.
  • Let’s Talk Payments features Temenos, Strands, NYMBUS, and Infosys Finacle in a look at banking software companies. See NYMBUS at FinDEVr New York next week.
  • Entrust Datacard and Trend Micro team up to provide businesses with better data encryption and authentication technology.
  • American Banker features StreetShares.
  • Xerox and Tradeshift partner to deliver digital procurement and accounts payable services.

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’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Finovate’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Euros_purple

Nineteen Finovate alums headquartered in Europe raised $350 million in 2015.

From the $16,000 in seed money raised by U.K. startup, StockViews, to the €82 million investment received by Germany’s Kreditech, we’ve counted every euro, pound, and dollar that investors poured into our European alums. And whether the funding represented an initial infusion of capital or was part of a multi-stage Series E round, it is clear that investors are very interested in the fintech innovations of Europe.

Take a look for yourself at the “European Portfolio” from 2015 below, featuring Finovate alums from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

GermanFlagGermany

 

Ireland_FlagIreland

 

Netherlands_FlagThe Netherlands

 

 

Switzerland_Flag

 

Switzerland

 

 

UK_FlagUnited Kingdom


There’s still time to join us in London for FinovateEurope! Our two-day conference returns to Old Billingsgate Market Hall, February 9 and 10. Get your tickets today and save your spot.

 

 

2015: A Year in Finovate Alumni Mergers and Acquisitions

2015: A Year in Finovate Alumni Mergers and Acquisitions

Handshake_graphic

2015 was another big year for mergers and acquisitions in the fintech industry. And whether they were the acquirer or the acquired, Finovate alums were very much a part of the M&A action.

Because terms of many deals were undisclosed, it is difficult to get a precise number on how much money was spent acquiring some of fintech’s most promising startups this year. But looking just at those acquisitions for which figures were available, we can see that 2015 was a banner year in M&A (more than $7 billion) — and that’s just counting alums.

So from the $5 billion deal between FIS and Sungard to the “alum-acquires-alum” mergers of September 2015, let’s take a closer look at some of the major unions of the year that featured Finovate alums.


December


October


September


August


July


May


April


March


February


January


If you’re a Finovate alum whose merger we’ve missed or acquisition we’ve overlooked, let us know. Send us an email at research@finovate.com.

Kreditech Raises €82 Million in Series C Investment Led by J.C. Flowers

Kreditech Raises €82 Million in Series C Investment Led by J.C. Flowers

Kreditech_homepage_Sep2015

German consumer-finance technology company Kreditech today announced that it has raised €82.5 million in a Series C round led by J.C. Flowers—and more funding could be on the way. The investment includes a bridge loan from Peter Thiel and Amadeus Capital Partners (Amadeus) from earlier this year that has been converted into equity, as well as word that Kreditech hopes the round ultimately will raise more than €100 million.

Also participating in the round were existing investors Värde Partners, HPE Growth Capital, and Blumberg Capital.

The more than €80 million raised so far boosts the company’s total funding to more than €300 million in debt and equity. Kreditech CFO Rene Griemens noted that more than half of the company’s total funding are unused debt facilities—a revolving credit arrangement—that can be loaned out to help fuel growth.

Kreditech_stage_FF2014

Kreditech CEO and co-founder Sebastian Diemer demonstrated Kredito24 at FinovateSpring 2014 in New York.

Loren Felsman, managing director at J.C. Flowers who will be joining the Kreditech board as part of the investment, praised the company’s “sophisticated approach to real-time consumer banking,” especially as it relates to the underbanked. “Most lenders, including those built on modern technology, may not crack these markets for years,” Felsman said.

Kreditech leverages big data to create better credit-scoring technology for consumer-borrowers with poor or no credit histories. Kreditech focuses on the current financial health of the borrower, analyzing more than 20,000 data-points to establish potential creditworthiness.

These data-points encompass a wide range of information typically overlooked when analyzing a borrower’s likelihood of repaying debt, and include everything from a borrower’s Facebook friends to semantic analysis, i.e., the writing tone in email messages or social media posts. The goal, as Deimer explained from the stage last year at FinovateFall 2014, was both a more accurate credit rating, better pricing and more personalized lending options for the borrower.

Kreditech has deployed its technology with subsidiaries operating in nine markets: Germany, Poland, Spain, Peru, Mexico, Australia, the Dominican Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Czech Republic. “These are markets with very low or no credit-bureau infrastructure at all,” Deimer pointed out. This was key to both maximizing margins and keeping customer-acquisition costs low.” The company is also “ramping up” operations in Brazil and Romania.

Deimer was named to the Hot Topic 100 list of the most influential people in fintech in August. In May, Inc.com added Kreditech to its roster of the “22 Financial Technology Startups You Need to Know.” This spring, Kreditech announced the hiring of Oliver Prill as its new COO. Prill was previously the CEO of a boutique small-business and consumer-debt-reconciliation firm, Optanus, and before that was the founder and CEO of C&A Bank in Germany.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Kreditech demoed its technology at FinovateSpring 2014 in New York.

 

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Kreditech Raises 82 Million in Series C Investment Led by J.C. Flowers”
  • “Ellevest Pulls in $10 Million from Morningstar”

Around the web

  • Ripple Labs and Coinbase are highlighted in this infographic on how banks are using blockchain technology.
  • Let’s Talk Payments takes a look at Aire and its alternative approach to credit scoring.
  • Venmo is featured along with nine other top bill-sharing apps.
  • Emerging Payments Awards selects Hyperwallet as a finalist for the Best Corporate/Government Payments Program award for 2015.
  • Kony to offer enterprise mobility cloud solutions to Etisalat.
  • Forbes: Nordea selects Temenos and Accenture to undertake the first major comprehensive European core-banking replacement in years.
  • ChicagoInno features Morningstar’s HelloWallet’s Best of Show win at FinovateFall.
  • PayPal unveils its chip-card reader in the U.S.
  • Hyperwallet counts down to next week’s FinDEVr developer conference. Come see Hyperwallet at FinDEVr, 6/7 Oct in San Francisco.
  • COO Connect calls Blooom, the future of retail savings.

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.

More Than 30 Alums Make Hot Topics 100 Most Influential People in Fintech

More Than 30 Alums Make Hot Topics 100 Most Influential People in Fintech

HotTopics_Fintech100_2015

If you drew up a list of the 100 most influential men and women in fintech, how many of them would be alumni of our Finovate/FinDEVr conferences?

The answer is about a third, according to Hot Topics, which released its list of the top 100 fintech influencers this week.

“More transactions taking place online mean more opportunities to help consumers manage their money in digital form: enter the fintech platforms,” wrote Joel Watson for Hot Topics. “Whether it be securing mortgagees, getting a loan, transferring money abroad, spending money in an ecommerce store, or one of a thousand other applications, the marketplace is fiercely competitive and growing all the time.”

See if you agree with who made the cut, who was overlooked, and who deserves at least an honorable mention.

Hot Topics is an online community of more than 300 entrepreneurs, corporate executives, venture capitalists, journalists, bloggers and other professionals interested and involved with technology.

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Debuts: Dream Payments Solves Your Payment-acceptance Nightmare”
  • “Bill.com Unveils its iOS App for Small Business Owners”
  • “Malauzai Software Raises $11 Million in Venture Funding”

Around the web

  • Bloomberg: Barclays’s Michael Rake to Become WorldPay Chairman in September. See WorldPay at FinDEVr this October.
  • PaySimple introduces BookSimple, its cloud-based scheduling software.
  • Check Point partners with Vmware partner to bolster security in data centers.
  • Boston Business Journal: peerTransfer to open office in Shanghai, China, this year.
  • Bank Innovation reviews Narrative Science and its plans to enter the robot-advisor market.
  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews Ron Suber, Prosper President.
  • Credit Union Times features Rippleshot CEO and co-founder Canh Tran in its column on fraud detection for CUs.
  • Sang Lee, CEO of DarcMatter, quoted in RIA Biz column on robo-advisors.
  • PYMTNs.com profiles Kreditech as the company pursues Series C investment.
  • Belvoir FCU launches Belvoir Buck$ loyalty program courtesy of partnership with Larky.

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

  • “Prosper’s Growth History: $4 Billion in Loan Originations Since Launch”

Around the web

  • American Banker covers Realty Mogul and Patch of Land (paywall).
  • PYMNTS looks at how Currency Cloud plans to use its recent round of funding. Come see their presentation at FinDEVr 2015.
  • Tradeshift partners with supply-chain management solutions company Quyntess, which has built three apps on Tradeshift’s open platform.
  • TechCrunch rumors Kreditech is three months out from closing a $110 million round with contribution from Peter Thiel.

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

  • Bright Funds Closes Seed Round with $1.8 Million Investment
  • Zooz Launches Insights to Give Merchants Actionable Intelligence on Customer Behavior

Around the web

  • APCI Federal Credit Union to deploy core processing technology from Jack Henry & Associates’ Symitar division.
  • EU Startups interviews Sebastian Diemer, Kreditech CEO.
  • New COO David Obrand leads team of new executive hires at Radius.
  • Shell Geismar Federal Credit Union chooses account processing platform from Fiserv.
  • Mambu enhances platform to help smaller FIs manage the requirements of lending to SMEs.
  • Techli St. Louis features Hip Pocket as 1 of 3 finalists for its most promising startups award.
  • Glassdoor ranks Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche as one of the highest-rated CEOs for 2015.
  • Hedge funds can run but not hide from disruptors like HedgeCoVest and DarcMatter, according to Daily Fintech.

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.