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 Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Finovate Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Fintech50_homepage_April2016

FinTechCity unveiled its new FinTech50 Hall of Fame this week at the Money 20/20 event in Copenhagen, Denmark. Finovate alums took six out of the ten spots.

The “founding ten members” of TheFinTech50 Hall of Fame are companies that “have featured on our radar since the days when they could reasonably be called startups,” say FinTech50 founders Julie Lake and Nicky Cotter, writing in The FinTech50 2016 Yearbook. “In recognition of their pioneering spirit and competitive staying power, we felt they deserved their own special place within a list of remarkable game-changers,” the founders wrote.

FinTechCity also presented The FinTech50 2016, its roster of the fifty hottest FinTech businesses in Europe. Of the 50 companies selected by the panel of more than 30 industry experts who poured over more than 1,200 candidates, a full baker’s dozen were Finovate—or FinDEVr—alums.

Read the full list.

Lake and Cotter called this year’s competition “the most hotly contested FinTech50 in its four-year history.” The founders also highlighted differences from the 2015 list, with this year’s roster featuring more companies innovating in “security, compliance, and risk.”

Also noteworthy was the number of European fintech companies from the United Kingdom (more than 30 out of the 50). The founders credited this to the U.K.’s broader access to funding, as well as the region’s local talent, and “favorable regulatory environment.” Lake and Cotter also praised other emerging European fintech communities in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Stockholm.

In addition to The FinTech50 2016 and its new Hall of Fame, FinTechCity also announced its FinTech20 India and FinTech20 Hong Kong. Finovate alums were represented here with Demystdata (FinovateAsia 2012) earning a spot in the Hong Kong 20, and Bank Bazaar (FinovateAsia 2012) getting recognition in the India 20. Lastly, The FinTech50 shared “The Hot Ten,” a roster of companies on their watch list for 2016. Here, Finovate alum, Ormsby Street (FinovateFall 2015), was recognized on that list.

FinDEVr APIntelligence

FinDEVrNY16-V2(wdate)We’re taking our FinDEVr developer showcase to New York on March 29 & 30, 2016. Register today.

Developer news

  • Emirates NBD Group and the Open Bank Project launch a global competition for fintech startups.

The latest from upcoming FinDEVr New York 2015 presenters:a

  • Markit to deploy smart automation technology from WorkFusion.
  • Nerdwallet profiles robo-advisor Betterment.

Alumni updates

  • Spreedly secures $3 million financing round.

Stay current on daily news from the fintech developer community! Follow FinDEVr on Twitter.

Mambu Pulls in $8.7 Million to Replace Core Banking

Mambu Pulls in $8.7 Million to Replace Core Banking

MambuHomepage

Mambu, creator of a cloud-based SaaS banking platform, raised $8.7 million (€8 million) this week. Combined with the $1.5 million the company picked up in February 2013, its funding now tops $10.6 million.

The round was led by Acton Capital Partners and CommerzVentures; existing investors also contributed.

Mambu CEO Eugene Danilkis speaks to the purpose of the new investment:

We are building out the product and onboarding customers in multiple geographies. We are excited that this new capital will allow us to deploy faster, and to better support our global client base as we continue to enable the next generation of banking service providers.

In more specific terms, Mambu plans to use the funds to:

  • Expand its commercial team
  • Increase investment into the platform
  • Open additional offices to support growth in Asia and the Americas

The Berlin-based company showcased its core banking application at FinovateAsia 2013, highlighting its holistic approach that helps banks of any size create and service loan and deposit products. Founded in 2011, Mambu seeks to replace core banking by offering faster access to technology at a lower cost.

Over the past year, Mambu has added 30+ new customers and has added support for P2P and SME lending methods.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Mobino Inks Partnership with Paymint”

Around the web

  • JPMorgan announces partnership with OnDeck Capital.
  • Nigeria-based consumer-finance firm, RenMoney, to deploy cloud banking solution from Mambu.
  • Green Dot plans to launch new loan marketplace in 2016.
  • Freedom CU ($673m) chooses core processing technology from Jack Henry & Associates’ Symitar.
  • Smarter Analyst features Tradier, QuantConnect, TipRanks, and Quantopian.

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: “LiquidLandscape’s Visualization Solves Scattered Data”
  • “FinDEVr Launches in New York, March 2016″
  • “OnDeck adds new small business lending options”

Around the web

  • The Financial Brand: Beyond the Arc’s Steven Ramirez considers three fintech trends from Finovate alums.
  • Nasdaq acquires SecondMarket to help startups sell shares.
  • Motif Investing partners with J.P. Morgan to offer investors fractional IPO shares.
  • ING and Kabbage partner to bring platform lending to Europe’s small businesses.
  • PayItSimple USA changes its name to Splitit.
  • Encap Security announces formation of new advisory board.
  • Algomi wins “Most Innovative Trading Product/Service” category at the Financial News Awards in Trading & Technology for the second consecutive year.
  • OakNorth Bank chooses Mambu as its banking technology partner.
  • Feedzai introduces data science studio for fraud prevention.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Reparo Loves Mambu: Partnership Brings New Loan Options to UK SMEs

Reparo Loves Mambu: Partnership Brings New Loan Options to UK SMEs

Mambu_homepage_July2015

Cloud banking innovator Mambu has been selected by Reparo Finance, an SME business-financing company, to provide a new line of business loans for small to medium companies in the United Kingdom.

Andrew Ward, managing director of Reparo Finance, pointed to the ability to provide financing to “neglected yet viable U.K.-based businesses.” Ward said that “partnering with Mambu has allowed our company to quickly bring more sophisticated loan offerings to market, while offering the necessary expertise and scalability to meet growing customer demand.”

Eugene Danilkis, Mambu CEO, added that his company’s technology would help make it easier for Reparo to develop “new and more accessible loan offerings” to market to the historically underserved small businesses.

Mambu_stage_FA2013

From left: Mambu founder and CEO Eugene Danilkis, and David Hamilton, advisory board member, presented at FinovateAsia 2013 in Singapore.

Mambu has had a busy 2015. The company announced earlier this month that Ferratum Group selected its technology to power SME lending, and in June added a variety of new features such as multi-account credit arrangements, balloon payments for real estate and auto lending, asset-backed lending, and more. Mambu began the year being named to FinTechCity’s FinTech 50.

Reparo Finance provides SME financing options such as asset-secured loans, that range from 50,000 pounds to 1 million. Terms range from one to 24 months and a lending decision takes only two business days. The company plans to use Mambu to provide greater flexibility when it comes to payment schedules. Reparo was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Founded in December 2011 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Mambu made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia 2013 in Singapore.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “The Next FinTech Unicorn? Rumored $150 Million Heading to Kabbage
  • “Reparo Loves Mambu: Partnership Brings New Loan Options to UK SMEs”

Around the web

  • Datamonitor looks at how “wealth giants” are responding to the challenge of robo-advisors like Betterment.
  • Atom Bank chooses front-office technology from Intelligent Enviornments and back-office technology from FIS.
  • Fujitsu’s PalmSecure biometric technology comes to Fiserv’s DNA account-processing platform.
  • e27 reviews technologies like LoopPay and the prospects for digital wallet use in Asia.
  • Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, says bitcoin will be the world’s reserve currency within 15 years.
  • The Telegraph highlights Zopa in its look at the safety of peer-to-peer lending.
  • Kony launches the latest version of its mobile backend-as-a-service (MBaaS) solution, Kony MobileFabric 6.5.
  • Fox Business News interviews Realty Mogul founder and CEO Jilliene Helman.
  • itBit hosts Bankchain Discover Summit for financial industry professionals.

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.

Alumni News: March 10, 2015

Alumni News: March 10, 2015

Finovate-F-Logo-thumb-100x100-4490-thumb-100x100-8209-thumb-200x200-8210-thumb-200x200-8972-thumb-200x200-8975-thumb-125x125-9061-thumb-125x125-13257-thumb-150x150-13291-thumb-150x150-13321-thumb-125x125-13415

  • CoverHound Raises $14 Million in Series B
  • Mambu partners with NCC Group, adding assurance solution, SaaS Assured.
  • Check out our interview with CurrencyTransfer.com co-founder, Daniel Abrahams.
  • Fiserv makes The Card Collection available to FIs to help accelerate transition to EMV chip cards.
  • Nashville Post reports on iQuantifi and its participation in the Plug and Play accelerator program this spring.
  • All ten of the top apps in U.S. News & World Report’s review of credit union apps were built by Digital Insight.
  • A look at technology in Kansas City features insights from EyeVerify CEO and founder Toby Rush.
  • Rippleshot and BioCatch earn finalist spots in MRC METAwards.
  • Gartner positions MicroStrategy in the “Leader” quadrant of the 2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms report for eight years in a row.
  • Finovate Debuts: ebankIT’s Solutions Tap into Wearables and Augmented Reality

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 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.

Finovate Alums Among SWIFT Innotribe’s Startup Challenge Finalists

Finovate Alums Among SWIFT Innotribe’s Startup Challenge Finalists
InnotribeLogo

With more than 280 companies applying, and 47 companies selected to compete, the Innotribe Startup Challenge is down to the top 15 companies that will move on to the Grand Finale. And six of the companies to advance are Finovate alums.

Sibos

The Innotribe Startup Challenge is part of Sibos, the conference held by SWIFT each year. The goal of the Challenge is to help what the contest categorizes as “startups” and “innovators” get access and exposure to the broader fintech community. Events are held in London, Singapore, and New York during which competing companies pitch their innovations to industry experts and fintech investors. 

The Grand Finale will be held on October 1 at Sibos. The winning companies – one “early stage startup” and one “growth-stage innovator” – will receive a prize of $50,000 USD.
The six Finovate alums among the finalists are below.
Thumbnail image for AMPLogoHiRes.jpg

“Innovator”
Founded: 2009
HQ: Hong Kong, China

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“Startup”
Founded: 2013
HQ: London, UK

Thumbnail image for fastcashlogo.jpg

“Innovator”
Founded: 2012
HQ: Singapore
“Startup”
Founded: 2012
HQ: Seattle, WA

Thumbnail image for MambuLogo.jpg

“Innovator”
Founded: 2011
HQ: Berlin, Germany

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“Innovator”
Founded: 2011
HQ: Pasadena, CA
Said Fabian Vendenreydt, Head of Markets Management, Innotribe and the SWIFT Institute at SWIFT said “Since it started in 2011, the Innotribe Startup Challenge has provided a huge opportunity to our community to understand and support this innovation.” 
For more information about the Innotribe’s Startup Challenge, visit their page here.