Alumni News– December 23, 2014

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  • The Tech Bulletin profiles Heckyl Technologies.
  • Sonavation announces acquisition of assets of Arkami.
  • Chelsea State Bank launches Larky-powered mobile app.
  • EVRY announces a four-bank, $160 million payments partnership.
  • Kashoo unveils version 4.1 of its cloud accounting and bookkeeping app for iOS. 
  • Walmart to distribute GreenDot prepaid products in 2015.
  • BMO Financial Group’s deployment of Xignite Enterprise wins American Financial Technology Award.
  • IT Qlick takes a look at Jwaala Personal Financial Manager and roomMaster.
  • CashStar teams up with Spafinder Wellness.
  • NY Times DealBook looks at disruptive startups in fintech including Lending Club, On Deck, and TradeKing.
  • Forbes.com column on how companies stand out from the crowd features Silanis Technology.
  • Jemstep to power Redhawk Online Advisor.
  • Continuity Control taps Peter Rawlinson as Chief Marketing Officer.
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 Fill Ranks of KPMG’s Fintech Innovators for 2014

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Draw up a list of the top fintech innovators of 2014. Got it? Now tell me how many of your top 50 companies are not just impressive companies in their respective fields, but Finovate alums, as well.

If you are global accounting and consulting group, KPMG, then the answer is “more than half.”

Of the 50 companies recognized by KPMG in its 2014 review of top fintech innovators, 27 have demoed their technologies at Finovate conferences. And of that 27, 13 have won Best of Show at least once.
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The inaugural “50 Best Fintech Innovators” report is a joint venture between AWI Ventures KPMG Australia and the Financial Services Council (FSC). 
The companies chosen were selected based on four factors: total capital raised, rate of capital raising, degree of sub industry disruption, and “degree of product, service, customer experience and business model innovation.” 
Writing in an introduction to the report, AWI Limited CEO Ben Heap explained why fundraising played such a prominent part of the selection process.
“These assessment criteria reflect the fact that venture capital invested is a relevant measure of innovation which in turn fuels enduring competitive advantage,” he wrote. 
“Venture capitalists seek this enduring competitive advantage over and above everything else.”
Here’s a breakdown of Finovate alums in the list, in order of appearance, along with links to their most recent demo video. Boldface indicates Best of Show winner.
“Ones to Watch” 
See the full list of companies here.

OnDeck Goes Public, Raises $200 Million in Initial Public Offering

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Small business lending innovator OnDeck became a publicly traded company today, raising $200 million in an offering that valued the company at $1.3 billion.

And like Lending Club, which launched its IPO last week, OnDeck saw its stock price above its anticipated range. Initially set for $16-18, shares of ONDK opened Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange at $26.50 and traded as high as $28 by midday.

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OnDeck was founded in 2006 and specializes in providing loans to small businesses that are typically underserved by traditional lenders. What makes OnDeck unique is twofold: first, the company believes its proprietary methods do a better and faster job of identifying true creditworthiness than methods used historically by financial institutions. Second, OnDeck’s lending capital comes from lines of credit secured from banks, as well as securization of its loan book.
We shared some interesting metrics on OnDeck in November when the company announced its IPO plans. Additionally, OnDeck’s loan originations have grown at a compound AGR of 127% from 2011 to 2013, and the company has experienced year-over-year growth of 171% in the first nine months of 2014. OnDeck has originated more than $1.7 billion in loans since inception in 2007.
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Coming on the heels of the Lending Club IPO, OnDeck public debut is putting a spotlight on the variety of fintech innovation being brought to market. And while increased scrutiny from investors and analysts will present challenges, it will also provide an opportunity to stimulate greater attention, interest and investment in the industry.
Interviewed Wednesday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street”, OnDeck CEO Noah Breslow said, “It’s a signature moment for financial technology. Public market investors have had no real way to invest in the disruption that’s happening in banking. We think that both the Lending Club IPO and the OnDeck IPO represent in consumer and small business the two leaders in those respective markets.”
Lead underwriters of the offering were Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Jeffries, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley. Based in New York, OnDeck was last on the Finovate stage in 2012 for FinovateSpring where it demoed its OnDeck Connect technology. This fall, the company participated in the inaugural FinDEVr conference in San Francisco, presenting its lending APIs.

Alumni News– December 8, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFifth Third Bank chooses FIS’ C2P Open Payments Platform.
  • Azimo announces £1 instant money transfers to 15 countries in Latin America.
  • Mobile Payments Today takes a look at the mobile checkbook app from VerifyValid.
  • WePay picks Google Cloud Platform as its new hosting provider.
  • VentureBeat features Nymi as a physical password solution.
  • Small Business Trends features Bolstr.
  •  TSYS recognized in The Civic 50, an initiative that recognizes companies for improving the quality of life in their communities.
  • OnDeck ranked 21 on Crain’s NY Business Best Places to Work 2014.
  • Huffington Post interviews OnDeck’s Andrea Gellert.
  • TD Ameritrade has the #1 trading app in the Apple app store.
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– November 18, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgCoinbase to introduce bitcoin tip button to enable micropayment acceptance online.
  • Venmo users can now log in using both bank ID and Touch ID.
  • TechWeek Europe takes a look at Arxan Technologies’ State of Mobile App Security report.
  • Malaysian Digest features Azimo in a discussion on the revolution in the money transfer industry.
  • Dough Roller interviews iQuantifi CEO and Co-Founder, Tom White.
  • Business News Daily quotes Igor Gonta, CEO of Market Prophit on the importance of having a social media strategy.
  • PostFinance AG’s Monexio selects Mobino platform to help develop its own digital payment solutions.
  • SK Planet wins first prize at KPRA Awards 2014 for its filter program, Flitter.
  • Hiscox launches new digital insurance platform powered by Backbase CXP.
  • PayPal challenges Apple Pay with an app for the Pebble smartwatch.
  • The European Commission approves Tradeshift data format for government purchasing.
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.

OnDeck Seeks to Raise $150 Million in Initial Public Offering

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Alternative small business lender OnDeck has announced plans to raise $150 million in an initial public offering.

According to analysis from The Wall Street Journal, the IPO could value OnDeck at $1.5 billion. The Journal also suggested that the $150 million number for the IPO was likely a “placeholder amount” that will probably change. 

While the company understandably has few words to share about its impending IPO, OnDeck CEO Noah Breslow has said a number of interesting things about the future of his company and the small business community it serves. Asked about the future of the alternative lending industry over the next 10-20 years in an interview with NPR this summer, Breslow replied: “I think it loses the designation of alternative.”
“I think just like today I buy a plane ticket online with Priceline.com. Maybe 20 years ago I would have talked to a travel agent. You know – we are going through that entire cycle. We’re probably in year five of a 20-year journey in terms of lending.”
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OnDeck reported more than $107 million in revenue in the first three quarters of 2014, and a net loss of $14.4 million. The revenue figure represents a year-over-year gain of 2.5x.

Here are a few key metrics to keep in mind:
  • OnDeck will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol, ONDK
  • Lead underwriter is JP Morgan Stanley
  • Originated more than $1.7 billion in loans to 25,000 small businesses
  • Raised more than $170 million in venture capital funding, and more than $300 million in debt financing
  • Collected more than 4 million customer payments
  • Previous investors include:
    • RRE Ventures
    • Institutional Venture Partners
    • Village Ventures
    • SAP Ventures
    • First Round Capital
    • Google Ventures
    • Tiger Global
Also underwriting the IPO were Deutsche Bank Securities, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Pierce, Fenner & Smith.
OnDeck’s IPO news comes just a few months after the IPO filing of peer-to-peer lender, Lending Club (another Finovate alum). This reflects both a continued strong investment pace in fintech innovators in general, as well as a particular passion for alternative lenders. OnDeck earned the investment dollars of a number of major fintech-savvy venture capitalist firms and individuals such as PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and former American Express CEO, James Robinson.
What are people saying about the IPO? At places hardcore investment websites like Seeking Alpha, the questions are all about the sustainability of growth and the potential for profitability in the near-term. Over at Inc., Jeremy Quittner sees challenges and advantages for OnDeck as opposite sides of the same coin, considering the company’s “balance sheet lender” business model as a “risk” and its capacity for generating significant income from interest a “reward.”
OnDeck recently presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014, introducing its frictionless, extensible, and powerful API. The company announced its plan to partner with Worldpay in August, and reported in June that it’s small business lending platform had a $3.4 billion, 22,000 job impact on the economy. In March, OnDeck raised $77 million in a round led by Tiger Capital. The New York-based company was founded in 2007 and was last on the Finovate stage for the spring 2012 show in San Francisco.

Alumni News– November 13, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgKili acquires NFC microSD pioneer DeviceFidelity.
  • American Banker lists Currency Cloud, BioCatch, Linqto, VerifyValid, and Rippleshot as top 10 tech companies to watch.
  • Fintech in the fall: themes and company updates from CAN Capital, Encap Security, Fuze Network, Guardian Analytics, Larky, Ripple, and Xpenditure.
  • American Banker examines 2015 plans for FIS, Fiserv and Diebold.
  • Forbes looks at the success of RoboAdvisors: Betterment, Wealthfront, Personal Capital, and SigFig.
  • Forbes examines Kantox’s P2P FX trading technology.
  • TSYS partners with FICO to deliver a marketing product for card issuers called TSYS Targeted Messaging.
  • Digital Insight enters reseller agreement with Guardian Analytics to deliver anomaly detection services to financial institutions.
  • Trulioo wins 2014 Canadian Technology Companies to watch award from Deloitte.
  • Huffington Post interviews Andrea Gellert, SVP Marketing at OnDeck.
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– October 24, 2014

  • Smarty Pig featured in Washington Post column on ways to save on holiday gift shopping.
  • Wealth Management.com talks with Motif Investing CEO Hardeep Walia on tech trends in the financial services industry.
  • TransferWise and CurrencyFair are highlighted in Forbes review of ways to save on foreign currency exchange.
  • Bob’s Guide profiles cloud-based market data provider, Xignite.
  • Technology Tools for Today interviews Tom Nally, president of TD Ameritrade Institutional.
  • Pymnts interviews EVO Snap* CEO Peter Osberg about Apple Pay.
  • Fitsmallbusiness.com highlights OnDeck, PayPal, & other Finovate alums as small business lending innovators.
  • D3 Banking brings in $7 million, with $3 million more on the way.
  • ABA Banking Journal looks at Karrot, the automated online lending service demoed by Kabbage last month at FinovateFall 2014.
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.

FinDEVr 2014: OnDeck’s Lending API Helps Assess Business Health to Deliver Loans Faster

FinDEVr 2014: OnDeck’s Lending API Helps Assess Business Health to Deliver Loans Faster
This post is part of our live coverage of FinDEVr San Francisco 2014.
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OnDeck showed how its lending APIs help financial institutions lend to small businesses faster:

OnDeck Lending API’s – Frictionless, Extensible, Powerful
The OnDeck Score evaluates thousands of data points – from cash flow to public records to social data – to more accurately and efficiently assess business health and deliver capital in as fast as 24 hours. 
Pamela Rice, OnDeck’s SVP of Technology, is discussing how the OnDeck platform provides a critically needed mechanism for financial institutions and other business service providers to efficiently reach the Main Street small business market. 
The company has several APIs, which provide powerful, fully integrated lending capabilities to third party partners, thus allowing for instant pre-qualifications, pre-approvals and loan applications. Through a coding and product demo, Pamela will demonstrate how both developers and non-developers can interact with OnDeck’s APIs in a UI sandbox and how to utilize our Salesforce app for frictionless plug-and-play integration. 
OnDeckHomepage
Presenter: Pamela Rice, VP Technology
About:
Launched in 2007, OnDeck uses data aggregation and electronic payment technology to evaluate the financial health of small and medium sized businesses to efficiently deliver capital to a market underserved by banks. Its proprietary technology – the OnDeck ScoreTM – enables small businesses to obtain affordable loans with a fraction of the time and effort that it takes through traditional channels. OnDeck’s credit models look deeper into the health of businesses, focusing on overall business performance, rather than the owner’s personal credit history. 
As a leading direct lender of small business loans, OnDeck has deployed more than $1 billion in capital nationwide.
Website: ondeck.com
Twitter: @ondeckcapital

FinDEVr Preview: CopSonic, Finicity, Mifos Initiative, ModoPayments, and OnDeck

FinDEVr Preview: CopSonic, Finicity, Mifos Initiative, ModoPayments, and OnDeck
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FinDEVr begins in just over a week. To be a part of the first fintech event for developers, click here to get your tickets today.

Here is Part Two of our last look at the companies that will demo on Tuesday, September 30. In this installment, we meet:

Part Three is available here. If you missed our first installment, check out Part One here.
And don’t forget to join the growing community of developers, software architects, and engineers on Bizzabo


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CopSonic is a French company founded in 2013 specialized in the development and marketing of its sonic and ultrasonic authentication technology. The company is composed out of a strong team of researchers and engineers specialized in security, payment, sonic and ultrasonic authentication protocols. Recently, CopSonic joined the Microsoft Partner Network and became a member of the FIDO Alliance organization.

Keynote: Sonic and Ultrasonic Authentication Solution Working on All Mobile Phones
The CopSonic SDK allows contactless multi-factor authentication based on ultrasounds or sounds. This SDK is the first to introduce an “air gap” with encrypted analog information into the digital circuit. The security level thus achieved by CopSonic reaches current military security levels.
CopSonic is a universal solution working on all feature phones, smart phones, smart watches, tablets, computers, smart devices, internet of things, etc. as long as they are equipped with speakers and/or a microphone. It is operational on all standard GSM networks, on the intent or any other TCP-IP compatible network. The solution requires no change of Telco or of the existing hardware.
CopSonic enables e-commerce, financial and cybersecurity industries to propose a universal and secure solution for strong authentication to all of their customers worldwide. This authentication solution is an alternative to the use of online and/or offline passwords.
PhonicAccess and GateSonic are anti-phishing use cases of this highly secured technology. Also, for the first time, CopSonic enables the use of smart-bracelets as secure access key.


FinicityLogo_FinDEVr

Founded in 1999, Finicity is a privately held fintech industry pioneer. Leading the charge to the Evented Financial Web, Finicity enables fintech developers to build real-time apps through its RESTful Aggregation API and the Finicity API Platform.

Keynote: Aggregation Reloaded
Forged and hardened in consumer PFM over the past 13 years, Finicity is publicly launching its Financial Aggregation API service with unparalleled FI uptime, broad FI coverage, 24/7 developer support, and exciting new endpoint features that will elevate your UX.
Why it’s great for developers:
  • 24/7 Pre and Post-deployment Agg Support
  • Improve your app UX with unparalleled FI Agg uptime
  • Come see the launch of the Evented Financial Web
The Finicity API Platform, RESTful Aggregation API and Developer Portal make it EASY to deploy financial apps into the Evented Financial Web ecosystem.


MifosLogo_FinDEVr

The Mifos Initiative is a 501(c)3 non-profit that guides the development of the Mifos X solution for financial inclusion, an API-driven open source platform with a suite of configurable cloud apps. Our community speeds the elimination of poverty by scaling financial services to the 2.5 billion unbanked.

Our platform is game-changing because we are mobilizing a global community, which is the only way to confront the massive problem we face. Our open source license and community driven approach is unlocking new collaboration and enabling new business models that will allow the financial inclusion sector to scale upward and outward. It enables small institutions to mature and large institutions to reach down cost-effectively in a manner that never could be possible before.
Keynote: Mifos X, Open Technology Platform Unlocking New Opportunities at the Base of the Pyramid
There is a massive opportunity to serve the 2.5B individuals who lack access to financial services. Discover how you can build and scale mobile and cloud-based solutions on top of the open Mifos X platform for financial inclusion, which is led by a global community & backed by Silicon Valley.
Mifos X is the world’s only open source technology platform for financial inclusion. Built around an API-centric, cloud-based software architecture, the Mifos X Platform is a modern, connected core banking system for responsible financial services organizations bringing basic financial services to the poor globally.
Our innovative solution consists of a full suite of open technologies to scale the reach of financial inclusion to the 2.5B unbanked, encompassing an open source platform released under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, completely exposed through a full set of open APIs as well as a suite of cloud products and mobile apps on top of the platform. Whether you are an innovator looking to build a brand new fintech solution, an integrator looking to integrate or scale an existing product, a reseller looking to extend, implement, support, or host a feature-rich core banking system, or a financial institution looking for a solution out of the box, Mifos X has it covered.
Mifos X consists of 1) the platform (A RESTful back-end which talks to a MySQL database and is built on the Jersey/Spring/JPA stack) 2) the community app (AngularJS app that provides support for the most commonly used financial inclusion model
s) and 3) RESTful APIs from our platform accessing all the core underlying functionality to enable the community to quickly build their own enterprise grade financial inclusion products/apps on any technology stock.
Workshop: Building Apps for Financial Inclusion on the Mifos X Platform
In this hands-on session, you’ll learn how to quickly build enterprise-grade financial inclusion solutions on top of Mifos X, an open-source cloud-based Java platform providing the common core banking functionality through a full set of RESTful APIs, an AngularJS web app and an Android client.
Why it’s great for developers:
  • Market-Validated: 75 customers serving 2.5M clients
  • Open & Community-Driven: Open Source via MPL 2.0
  • Extensible: Complete platform – RESTful APIs on a modern tech stack
Mifos is the world’s only fully open API-driven platform for financial inclusion providing a technology foundation to reach the 2.5 Billion unbanked at the Base of the Pyramid.


ModoLogo_FinDEVr

ModoPayments powers better buying experiences with better economics, created by YOU! Using our handcrafted API, any developer can build their own mobile app with the ability to perform in-store purchases at tens of thousands of store locations. Modo powers the payments and tech and you design the experience.

Keynote: How to Find Money & Love with Mobile Apps (maybe more money than love)
Learn about the best kept secret in payments platform APIs: Modo. Modo will show you in 6 minutes or less how to build a better buying experience that entices consumers to spend money, and make you money, with the mobile app of your dreams. Your love mileage may vary.
Workshop: Get Your Hands on Modo
Now you know the secret about how the Modo API can transform buying experiences for your users, audience or customer base, and make real money with your mobile app. Get to this workshop, roll up your sleeves, and build an app you will fall in love with.


OnDeckLogo_FinDEVr

Launched in 2007, OnDeck uses data aggregation and electronic payment technology to evaluate the financial health of small and medium sized businesses to efficiently deliver capital to a market underserved by banks. Its proprietary technology – the OnDeck Score – enables small businesses to obtain affordable loans with a fraction of the time and effort that it takes through traditional channels. OnDeck’s credit models look deeper into the health of businesses, focusing on overall business performance, rather than the owner’s personal credit history.

As a leading direct lender of small business loans, OnDeck has deployed more than $1 billion in capital nationwide.
Keynote: OnDeck Lending API’s – Frictionless, Extensible, Powerful
The OnDeck Score evaluates thousands of data points – from cash flow to public records to social data – to more accurately and efficiently assess business health and deliver capital in as fast as 24 hours.
Pamela Rice, OnDeck’s SVP of Technology, is discussing how the OnDeck platform provides a critically needed mechanism for financial institutions and other business service providers to efficiently reach the Main Street small business market.
The company has several APIs, which provide powerful, fully integrated lending capabilities, to third party partners, thus allowing for instant pre-qualifications, pre-approvals and loan applications. Through a coding and product demo, Pamela will demonstrate how both developers and non-developers can interact with OnDeck’s APIs in a UI sandbox and how to utilize our Salesforce app for frictionless plug-and-play integration.
Why it’s great for developers
  • OnDeck’s technology makes the lending process simple, fast & efficient
  • APIs enable 3rd parties to provide more small businesses with the capital they need when they need it
  • OnDeck’s technology has enabled the lender to deploy more than $1 billion in capital to small businesses across the U.S.
OnDeck’s technology has enabled the lender to deploy more than $1 billion in capital to small businesses across the U.S.

Click here for Part Three of our look at fifteen companies that will be sharing their innovations at FinDEVr on Tuesday, September 30.
And if you missed our previous editions of our FinDEVr Preview, the links below will help get you up to date.

Jane J. Thompson Joins OnDeck Board of Directors

Jane J. Thompson Joins OnDeck Board of Directors

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OnDeck announced today that Jane J. Thompson, former head of Wal-Mart Financial Services, will join the board of directors of OnDeck.

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“I have dedicated my career to driving growth for a variety of companies across the financial services industry, with a particular focus on those underserved by traditional options,” Thompson said.

Noah Breslow, OnDeck CEO, added, “Her expertise and leadership will help guide our growth across our marketing, product innovation, risk management, and customer services efforts.”
Thompson currently serves as the CEO of Jane J. Thompson Financial Services LLC, a management-consultant firm. Before serving as president of Financial Services at Wal-Mart, Thompson led the Sears Credit, Sears Home Services, and Sears Online groups within Sears.
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Thompson is also director at Navient Corporation, a loan management, loan servicing, and asset recovery firm, VeriFone Systems, and The Fresh Market. An advisor to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Thompson was named Innovator of the Year, and one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance by American Banker Magazine.
Jane J. Thompson’s joining of the OnDeck board comes as the company moves closer to an initial public offering.

Alumni News– September 4, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgThreatMetrix to provide location-detecting solution help institutions meet the Treasury Office’s international business regulations.
  • LifeHacker: ReadyForZero tracks your debt and helps manage your credit score.
  • Graphic Packaging Holding selects Taulia to provide its Business Exchange program to optimize the organization’s payables process.
  • BiometricUpdate.com features BehavioSec. Come see its presentation at FinDEVr.
  • Jane J. Thompson joins OnDeck Board of Directors.
  • Wallaby Financial launches Android Wear app.
  • PayPal extends fingerprint authentication to Samsung Note 4 and Gear S.
  • EverBank partners with FIS to bring PeoplePay to its banking customers.
  • Forbes.com features Check among three nightmare-reducing money disruptors.
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.