Where Are They Now? A Look at FinovateSpring 2015 Best of Show Winners

Where Are They Now? A Look at FinovateSpring 2015 Best of Show Winners

Finovatefloor

FinovateSpring is quickly approaching. This year’s show, May 10 & 11 in San Jose, California, will be our biggest show yet with 72 winning ideas pitched to more than 1,500 fintech execs. Pick up your ticket to save your seat. While we’re eager to see this year’s demos, we wanted to reflect on the successes of last year’s Best of Show winners (in alphabetic order):


Alpha Payments Cloud

HQ: Singapore
Founded: 2012
Total funding: $12 million

APCStage

May 2015 demo: Alpha Payments Cloud showed AlphaHub, its omnichannel solution-access platform that helps banks, merchants, MSPs, and ISOs gain access to any solution provider in the world. (Demo video)

Partnerships, presentations, and product offerings since August 2015:


Avoka

HQ: Broomfield, Colorado
Founded: 2002

AvokaStage

May 2015 demo: Avoka showed Transact for Financial Services, which combines social, cloud services, and crowdsourcing into the world’s fastest credit card application. (Demo video)

Partnerships, presentations, and product offerings since September 2015:


MoneyAmigo

HQ: Las Vegas, Nevada
Founded: 2015
Funding: $300,000

MoneyAmigoState

May 2015 demo: MoneyAmigo debuted its new platform that brings financial services to the underbanked and underserved, delivering traditional banking products in an innovative way. (Demo video)

Activities and media coverage since May 2015:


Moven

HQ: New York, New York
Founded: 2011
Funding: $24.4 million

MovenStage

May 2015 demo: Moven introduced its Financial Health Platform that provides real-time, contextualized notifications and interactions that create “gamified money moments.” (Demo video)

Media coverage and new product features since October 2015:


NAMU Systems

HQ: Mahwah, New Jersey
Founded: 2014
Funding: $200,000

NamuStage

May 2015 demo: Namu debuted its Joyful Banking which uses new and intelligent behavior modeling to focus on customer behavior and digital experiences to create a new standard in mobile banking. (Demo video)

Namu’s awards and press coverage in 2015:


Shoeboxed

HQ: Durham, North Carolina
Founded: 2007
Funding: $2 million

ShoeboxedStage

May 2015 demo: Shoeboxed launched Receipt Capture for Banks solution which boosts the functionality of online and mobile banking apps while providing fraud protection. (Demo video)

Shoeboxed recently received media buzz for its product update and corporate move last year:


Stratos

HQ: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Founded: 2012
Funding: $6.63 million

StratosStage

May 2015 demo: Stratos debuted its dynamic Stratos Bluetooth Connected Card and Digital Card Issuance Platform that analyzes card usage trends and interactively engages card members. (Demo video)

Awards and activities:

Finovate’s 2015 Best of Show Winners Give Something to Tweet About

Finovate’s 2015 Best of Show Winners Give Something to Tweet About

BestofShowIMG

2015 was quite a year for the 800+ Finovate alumni. From acquisitions to IPOs, and everything in between, there was plenty to tweet about. Here are the highlights from the 2015 Best of Show winners:

FinovateEurope 2015

Avoka demoed a three-minute loan application that delivers a fast onboarding experience.

CoinJar showed a technology that enables consumers to buy, sell, and use digital and traditional forms of currency any way they choose, from dollars to bitcoins.

ebankIT demoed its omnichannel and social banking solution that maximizes interaction between FIs and clients.

eToro showed its innovations in social trading and investing for generation Y.

Jumio demoed credentials-management technology Netverify that turns mobile devices into ID document-scanning terminals.

mBank & i3D demoed their interactive, digital retail-branch concept.

Meniga showed off Market Match, its transaction-data analytics and enrichment engine.

FinovateSpring 2015

Alpha Payments Cloud demoed AlphaHub, its omnichannel access platform that helps banks, merchants, MSPs, and ISOs gain access to any solution provider in the world.

Avoka (see above)

Money Amigo showed technology that brings financial services to the underbanked and underserved, delivering traditional banking products in an innovative way.

Moven launched Moven Financial Health Platform that provides real-time contextualized notifications and interactions that create “gamified money moments.”

NAMU Systems demoed “Joyful Banking” which uses new and intelligent behavior modeling to focus on customer behavior and digital experiences to create a new standard in mobile banking.

Shoeboxed.com showcased its Receipt Capture for Banks, a solution that boosts functionality of online and mobile banking apps while providing fraud protection.

Stratos demonstrated its dynamic Stratos Bluetooth-connected card and digital card issuance platform that analyzes card-usage trends and interactively engages card members.


FinovateFall 2015

Blockstack.io launched technology that enables financial services and other enterprises to set up and build applications on a private, hosted blockchain.

Dyme showcased its innovative method for helping people start a savings habit and fund their lifestyle using text messaging.

Dynamics demoed fully programmable interfaces (stripe, EMV, NFC) for use in next-generation payment cards.

Finanteq launched its SuperWallet that helps banks take full advantage of their potential by integrating m-commerce and remote services with mobile banking.

Hedgeable: demoed its private banking platform for millennials.

HelloWallet showed its Retirement Explorer solution, an approachable and actionable online planning tool that helps employees model and work toward specific retirement outcomes.

SaleMove demoed its Engagement Platform and Omnicall technologies that enable online consumers to engage live with businesses as if they were face-to-face.

Soundpays showed its app that recognizes ultrasonic and sonic waveforms even in extremely noisy environments.


Want to see more award-winning demos of the newest fintech ideas? Pick up your ticket FinovateEurope 2016 and we’ll see you in London.

Finovate Debuts: Money Amigo Puts the Blockchain to Work for the Underbanked

Finovate Debuts: Money Amigo Puts the Blockchain to Work for the Underbanked

MoneyAmigoHomepage

Money Amigo’sMoneyAmigoSendMoney mobile banking platform delivers traditional banking products in a nontraditional way. Its clean interface targets underserved markets by delivering simple-to-use services with a transparent fee structure.

Company facts:

  • $300,000 raised
  • 7 employees
  • Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada

Money Amigo, which is primarily targeted toward Hispanics and students, prides itself on bringing financial services to previously ignored market segments. Its core feature is international remittances.

Cross-border remittances are expensive and time-consuming. To keep the cost low and the transfer-speed high, Money Amigo moves money using the blockchain. Because digital currencies intimidate most users, the startup insulates all players from cryptocurrency elements. The currency-transfer process runs completely and securely in the background: The sender, recipient, and back-end operational players interact only with Money Amigo’s simple user interface, unaware they are using digital currency.

MoneyAmigoRemittance2

When I asked the Money Amigo team for specifics on how the startup is using the blockchain, they would admit only to doing some “very very cool things” that they “just can’t talk about right now.”MrAmigo2

What’s next for Money Amigo? With so many players interested, the team tells me that Money Amigo is considering selling its remittance solution as a separate white-label option.

This post would not be complete without mentioning Mr. Amigo. The furry green mascot is a crucial part of the user experience. The friendly guy greets users at multiple points to walk them through the user experience. Financial services can be quite complex, and Mr. Amigo helps make managing money more approachable.

FinovateSpring 2015 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateSpring 2015 Best of Show Winners Announced

FS2015_Best_of-Show_Trophies

Going into this year’s tally of FinovateSpring 2015 ballots, it was anybody’s guess which companies had won the hearts and minds of our attendees and would take home one of our coveted Best of Show awards.

But after two days of great demonstrations of the latest in fintech innovation from companies near and far, the votes are in, and we want to be among the first to congratulate those startups and industry veterans whose technologies wowed our record-setting crowd at the City National Civic in San Jose, Calif., this week.

Congratulations to the Best of Show winners for FinovateSpring 2015, listed in alphabetical order:

AlphaPaymentsCloudLogoAlpha Payments Cloud, for AlphaHub, its omnichannel access platform that helps banks, merchants, MSPs, and ISOs gain access to any solution-provider in the world.

 

Avoka_logo_VectAvoka, for Avoka Transact for Financial Services, which combines social, cloud services, and crowdsourcing into the world’s fastest credit card application.

 

 

FS2015_MoneyAmigo_logoMoney Amigo, for its technology that brings financial services to the underbanked and underserved, delivering traditional banking products in an innovative way.

 

MovenMoven, for its Moven Financial Health Platform, providing real-time contextualized notifications and interactions that create “gamified money moments.”

 

FS15_NAMU_logoNAMU Systems, for its “Joyful Banking” which uses new and intelligent behavior-modeling to focus on customer behavior and digital experiences to create a new standard in mobile banking.

 

 

Shoeboxed logo copyShoeboxed, for its Receipt Capture for Banks solution, which boosts the functionality of online and mobile banking apps while providing fraud protection.

 

STRATOS_ID_10.07.14Stratos, for its dynamic Stratos Bluetooth Connected Card and Digital Card Issuance Platform that analyzes card-usage trends and interactively engages card members.

We hope you enjoyed the show! As always, thanks to everyone who attended and participated in FinovateSpring 2015. We’ll see you next year!


Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The seven companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners.

MoneyAmigo Delivers Traditional Banking Products in a Non-Traditional Way

MoneyAmigo Delivers Traditional Banking Products in a Non-Traditional Way

FS2015_MoneyAmigo_logo

This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateSpring 2015.

MoneyAmigo showed how its serves underserved markets:

MoneyAmigo fuses a simple user experience with innovative and sophisticated “in-chat” peer-to-peer payments – crossing any boarder in 3 clicks, 3 seconds. By providing basic banking functionality—bank account, debit card, bill payment and direct deposit—for free, along with an innovative peer-to-peer payment platform, MoneyAmigo provides financial control for those who are un/underbanked. MoneyAmigo breaks the rules of traditional banking by providing users an easy-to-understand, interactive app to manage their money needs in a straightforward and respectful manner. MoneyAmigo makes managing money fast, fair and friendly.

MoneyAmigo presenter: Founder Kim Norland, CEO

IMG_8742

IMG_8750

Product Launch: May 2015

Metrics: $300,000 raised; 7-person dedicated team, lead by Kim Norland. Team part of design:success—international innovation firm.
Product distribution strategy: Direct to Consumer (B2C), licensed

HQ: Las Vegas, Nevada
Founded: January 2015
Website: moneyamigo.com
Twitter: @moneyamigo

FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 8

FinovateSpring 2015 Sneak Peek: Part 8

FS2014_stageshot_profile_Loop

Today marks our final Sneak Peek preview. We hope you’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get to know a little about the companies that will be taking the stage at FinovateSpring 2015.

Register today to see and meet these innovators in person on 12/13 May at our upcoming conference in San Jose, California.

If you’ve missed an edition, our complete Sneak Peek series for FinovateSpring 2015 is below:

And now let us introduce you to the final fourteen companies of FinovateSpring 2015. See you in San Jose!


FS2015_Finaeos_logoFinaeos automates the back office and capital-raising compliance.

Why it’s great
Serves the demand for new ways to invest, save, and generate income by investors across the globe.

  • Founded: 2015
  • HQ: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

FS2015_Finicity_logoFinicity helps developers build powerful apps to drive financial software innovation.

Why it’s great
TXPUSH Interface to the Finicity API Platform.

  • Founded: 1999
  • HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah

FS2015_MoneyAmigo_logoMoney Amigo is a social money interaction platform that solves the lack of simple and clustered services for the unbanked and underbanked.

Why it’s great
Money Amigo makes managing money fast, fair, and friendly.

  • Founded: 2015
  • HQ: Las Vegas, Nevada

FS2015_Ondot_logoOndot Systems builds white-label solutions that enable financial institutions to provide security and convenience for their customers.

Why it’s great
Our platform brings innovation to mobile card services.

  • Founded: 2011
  • HQ: San Jose, California

FS2015_Onovative_logoOnovative’s powerfully simple marketing automation software helps financial institutions meet the challenge of cross-selling current customers.

Why it’s great
Onovative provides banks and credit unions with modern APIs and a simple UI to help them grow.

  • Founded: 2013
  • HQ: Jeffersonville, Indiana

FS2015_Outski_logoOutski’s platform improves employee health and wellness, increases productivity, and reduces job-related stress.

Why it’s great
Outski helps companies improve margins and reduce costs by focusing on the health and well-being of their employees.

  • Founded: 2013
  • HQ: Tucson, Arizona

FS2015_PrairieCloudware_logoPrairie Cloudware provides a comprehensive set of omnichannel, digital payment services to solve the need for more security, convenience, and control when purchasing goods and services online and in-store.

Why it’s great
We are a cloud-based, open platform that allows consumers to access and use their preferred payment mechanisms and accounts via the financial institution’s digital channels.

  • Founded: 2012
  • HQ: Omaha, Nebraska

FS2015_Slice_logoSlice’s technology provides item-level purchase-data across the largest base of online consumers (two million and counting).

Why it’s great
Slice’s one-of-a-kind Purchase Graph technology.

  • Founded: 2010
  • HQ: Palo Alto, California

FS2015_SmartAsset_logoSmartAsset provides a tools-and-content platform to give consumers personalized and actionable advice.

Why it’s great
Leverage our Automated Financial Modeling technology to make significant personal finance decisions.

  • Founded: 2011
  • HQ: New York City, New York

FS2015_Token_logo_snagToken is a new payment rail that solves the “faster payments” problem for banks, businesses, and consumers.

Why it’s great
A new open bank API, an unbreakable identity system, developer tools, and a wallet app for business and consumers.

  • Founded: 2015
  • HQ: Los Altos Hills, California

FS2015_TopImageSystems_logoTop Image Systems introduces the eFLOW mortgage, which eliminates the manual, time-consuming and expensive mortgage-origination process.

Why it’s great
Top Image Systems’ IQA (Image Quality Analysis) provides unparalleled accuracy, security, and ease of use.

  • Founded: 1991
  • HQ: Tel Aviv, Israel

FS2015_Vanguard_logoVanguard introduces the Funds Visualizer to rid investors of suboptimal portfolio construction.

Why it’s great
Our interactive, 3-D, data visualizations of diversification provide unique insights when it comes to building portfolios.

  • Founded: 1975
  • HQ: Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

FS2015_Vouch_logo_414updateVouch is the first social network for credit, enabling consumers to connect and share creditworthiness so they get the financial products they deserve.

Why it’s great
Vouch is for anyone who believes they are more than their credit score.

  • Founded: 2013
  • HQ: San Francisco, California

FS2015_Whodini_logo_snagWhodini helps merchants engage customers using social media marketing, reaching loyal customers with targeted offers.

Why it’s great
At Whodini, we help local businesses know their customers better.

  • Founded: 2004
  • HQ: Westport, Connecticut