Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • CrowdFlower Brings AI to Business Processes via Partnership with Microsoft
  • Fintech Trending: Bots Break Out, AI Gets Personal, and Blockchain Buys the Farm
  • SocietyOne Strikes Up Partnership with Beyond Bank, Reeling in $1.5 Million

Around the web

  • Payoneer to facilitate cross-border payments for e-commerce marketplace, Rakuten, in new partnership.
  • eWise unveils its new financial transaction Categorization-as-a-Service (CaaS) API for FIs.
  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews Swych CEO Deepak Jain. See video of Swych’s Best of Show winning performance at FinovateFall.
  • Bank of America, Santander, and the Royal Bank of Canada to form global blockchain payments network with distributed ledger technology from Ripple.
  • Azimo’s Facebook Messenger bot is now live.
  • Project Juno highlights Featurespace in its European Machine Intelligence Landscape.
  • Larky partners with Credit Union Association of the Dakotas (CUAD).

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.

Ripple Raises $55 Million Series B; Announces New Bank Partners

Ripple Raises $55 Million Series B; Announces New Bank Partners

ripple_homepage_september2016

The news last week that Ripple raised $55 million in Series B financing is a reminder of how a growing number of financial institutions are using digital currencies to improve the cross-border payments process. The investment comes courtesy of Standard Chartered, Accenture Ventures, SCB Digital Ventures, and SBI Holdings, and also featured participation from Santander Innoventures and Venture 51.

“Our mission is to make cross-border payments truly efficient for banks and their customers, and in doing so, lay the foundation for an Internet of Value where the world moves money as easily as information,” Ripple co-founder and CEO Chris Larsen explained. Ripple will use the funding, which takes the company’s total capital to more than $93 million, to grow its customer base and its team, as well as help secure strategic partnerships.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Ripple demonstrated its technology as OpenCoin at FinovateSpring 2013. An innovator in using digital currencies and distributed ledger technology to help increase the efficiency and lower the costs of cross-border payments for FIs, Ripple added multi-sign functionality to its consensus ledger in July, a month after the company announced that it was working with seven banks to “accelerate and improve” their cross-border payments service. Ripple picked up the first New York BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services this summer, and began the year partnering with SBI Holdings in a joint venture called SBI Ripple Asia that will bring Ripple’s cross-border payment solution to banks in the Asia-Pacific region.

ripple_homepage_crosscurrency_september2016

Ripple currently features 15 of the top 50 global banks in its global network, with pilot projects for more than 30 banks already completed. Calling the company “one of the most advanced distributed financial technology” firms in the industry, Global Head of Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered Alex Manson pointed out that Ripple’s technology was already a “tested and viable solution.” This, Manson said, would lead the way for collaboration between Standard Chartered and Ripple to “co-develop more use cases to better serve our clients and their ecosystems’ needs in an evolving marketplace.” Accenture’s Richard Lumb added that the use-cases for distributed financial technology go beyond cross-border payments, including services like real-time reporting and fraud detection.

In addition to the funding, Ripple announced a number of new additions to its network. These banks include:

  • BMO Financial Group
  • Mizuho Financial Group (MHFG)
  • National Australia Bank (NAB)
  • Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)
  • Shanghai Huarui Bank
  • Standard Chartered

Larsen called 2016 “the year where the most forward-thinking financial institutions are actually using blockchain technologies for payments and settlements rather than as an experiment.” He called the new additions a “major endorsement” of Ripple’s technology and the company’s capacity to build a “modern payments system to enable new economic opportunities and the seamless flow of value around the world.”

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Ripple Raises $55 Million Series B; Announces New Bank Partners
  • Hoyos Labs Rebrands as Veridium; Launches New Biometric Authentication Solution

Around the web

  • Wipro establishes blockchain research center at its Begaluru campus.
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) chooses biometric authentication from Finovate newcomer Daon. Video of Daon’s debut at FinovateFall will be available soon.
  • CBIC to join SecureKey’s Concierge, an authentication service.
  • Braintree SDK to help merchants in Europe accept UnionPay to better reach Chinese consumers.
  • Fidor Bank teams up with GFT Technologies to build mobile banking app.

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.

Fintech Favorites

Featured

Banks

  • TD Bank began rolling out its Flybits (F15) powered digital concierge TD for Me (press release). Check out its FinovateSpring ’16 demo. A first in Canadian banking, TD for Me enhances the popular TD app to include a “digital concierge” feature that curates content and services to create personalized, contextual experiences for customers based on their location and interests. Powered by Canadian start-up Flybits‘ secure cloud-based mobile intelligence product, TD for Me provides customers with useful TD-related content, like special nearby offers, helpful tips and details on local events, with more content and capabilities to be added in future updates.

Deals

  • In more TD Bank news, Financeit (F12) teamed with Concentra to purchase TD Bank’s indirect home-financing dealer-network and 45,000-loan portfolio for C$340 million. It’s a huge win for Financeit which assumes originations for 800 dealers previously working through TD Bank (check out its demo at FinovateFall).
  • Standard Chartered, Siam Commercial Bank and Banco Santander participated in Ripple’s (F13) $55 million Series B round announced today. In addition to those three, five more banks signed long-term contracts to integrate Ripple into their own banking platforms: Westpac, National Australia Bank, Mizuho Financial Group, MBO Financial Group, and Shanghai Huarui Bank

Tech

  • Mitek (F11) released an SDK for mobile check-capture to make it easier for third-party developers to deploy (press release). Check out their latest Finovate demo last May. Our new SDK is a self-contained set of screens, workflows, and APIs that comprise a complete multi-check capture experience allowing developers to quickly deploy their commercial mobile banking app offerings,” said Michael Diamond, general manager, payments solutions, Mitek. “Previously, our partners and banks were on their own to develop the app-level functionality around our core MiSnap multi-check capture engine. With this SDK, we’ve done the heavy lifting for them.
  • Yandex (F13) introduces AI capabilities to browser to warn users when it’s unsafe to bank or pay online
  • Technologists! Don’t miss the upcoming FinDEVr in Santa Clara, October 18-19 (register now)

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Fintech Trending: Look Who’s Chasing Venmo, Student Loan Servicing Falls Short
  • DriveWealth Adds Real-Time Margin

Around the web

  • The Times of India examines the role Ripple can play in reducing the costs of overseas remittances.
  • iSignthis integrates its digital KYC technology with Ixaris.
  • Axis Bank’s Tagit-powered app adds augmented reality.
  • Cortera announces 100th release of its Cortera Pulse product.
  • Quisk rolls out mobile-money platform at National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.
  • Philadelphia Business Journal names eMoney Advisor one of the “Best Places to Work” in Philadelphia.

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

  • PrivatBank’s Partnership with InComm Initiates Launch of Prepaid Products in Ukraine
  • Obloco Beta Tests Expense Reporting Solution with Washington Trust Bank
  • SocietyOne Has Facilitated $38 Million in Personal Loans in 2016
  • PayPal Partners with Xero to Support B2B Invoice Payment

Around the web

  • Boku partners with Google to enable carrier billing as payment option on Google Play in Lithuania.
  • Ghana-based startup, Sovereign Bank, deploys T24 core-banking system from Temenos.
  • CenturyLink to host SatuitCRM and SatuitCRA software as part of new agreement.
  • Risk Ident CEO Robert Valerio appointed to European Advisory Board of the Merchant Risk Council (MRC).
  • Fortune features PayPal, MasterCard, and IBM on its list of companies that will change the world.
  • Nikkei Asian Review looks at how Japanese banks will leverage Ripple.

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

  • Polly Portfolio Launches Investment Chatbot for Facebook Messenger
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence.
  • Zopa Taps Ronen Benchetrit for CTO
  • Sezzle Adds Former PayPal Executives as Advisers
  • Actiance Now Supports Compliance for Instagram

Around the web

  • Boku expands carrier billing service with new partnerships in Germany.
  • NCR and Wells Fargo partner to develop next-generation ATM technology.
  • Mizuho Financial Group to pilot Ripple for cross-border payments.
  • NICE Actimize teams up with Tableau Software to combine business intelligence with financial crime-compliance technology.
  • True Potential opens multi-asset portfolios to adviser market.
  • Lendio partners with Townsquare to promote its alternative small business financing solutions.
  • Misys relocates Texas office from Richardson to Plano to expand operations.
  • CardFlight reports that more than 64% of its merchants are now EMV-enabled, more than 3x the national average.

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

  • MoneyHub Teams Up with Unbiased to Help People Manage their Finances
  • Expensify Unveils ReceiptBurner and Price-to-Beat
  • Finovate Debuts: Walletron Helps Brands Build a Presence in Digital Wallets

Around the web

  • Concur to deploy SilverRail API to enable European travelers to search, plan, and schedule travel by rail.
  • CSI globalVCard moves global partnership-operations team to Dallas; Nan Dawson promoted to SVP of partnership operations.
  • Lending Club announces new Chief Capital Officer, Patrick Dunne.
  • CoinTelegraph names Braintree, Chain, and Ripple as three companies that will shape the future of money.
  • Sberbank Capitalizes On Pokémon Go Marketing Opportunity
  • Over the last year, 50 new customers added Guardian Analytics Wire to protect their customers from the Business Email Compromise scam.
  • Simple celebrates its 7th anniversary, now with 300,000 customers and a little over 300 staff.

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.

Ripple Adds Multi-Sign Functionality to its Consensus Ledger Technology

Ripple Adds Multi-Sign Functionality to its Consensus Ledger Technology

Ripple_homepage_July2016

Is the new multi-sign feature on the Ripple Consensus Ledger (RCL) the answer to preventing security breaches like the cyber-heist that cost the Bangladesh Bank more than $100 million?

That’s how Ripple sees it. Pointing to the problem of “outdated single-signature methods” of legacy payment networks, Ripple has introduced new multi-sign functionality for its RCL. Combined with the inherent transparency of the consensus ledger, the additional layer of control gives financial institutions another tool to combat fraud and unauthorized transactions. Pointedly, Ripple notes, this tool is not available via SWIFT, which is a major problem for FIs and a potential source of opportunity for companies like Ripple.

OpenCoin_Ripple_stage_FS2013

CEO Chris Larsen demonstrated the Ripple network at FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco.

“The new features found in distributed fintech solutions, such as multi-signing, are not available in traditional systems like Swift,” Ripple asserts. “Blockchain technology delivers a more robust and distributed security architecture for banks.” The multi-sign functionality on RCL will enable account holders to require more than one stakeholder to sign off on transactions. These signatures can be required from other users, other institutions, and/or other devices, making it that much more difficult for someone to make an unauthorized or fraudulent transaction.

And because Ripple’s multi-sign is “enforced by the RCL” rather than the FI itself, there is a greater chance of detecting fraud—particularly internal fraud—than with those traditional methods even if they rely on some measure of multi-signing. Ripple adds that multi-sign functionality won’t end with the RCL; the company also plans to make the technology an added feature of its Interledger Protocol (ILP).

Founded as OpenCoin in 2012, and rebranding as Ripple in 2015, the company’s founder and CEO Chris Larsen introduced the Ripple network at FinovateSpring 2013. Ripple announced that it added seven banks to its list of FIs testing cross-border payments using its technology in June, the same month the company received a BitLicense to trade virtual currencies in New York.

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Jumio to Power KYC & AML Services for Krypto Commerce
  • NICE Unveils New Recording Technology for Skype for Business
  • Ripple Adds Multi-Sign Functionality to Consensus Ledger Technology

Around the web

  • New York Times DealBook looks at new payday options such as PayActiv.
  • ACI Worldwide taps Marco Bravo as VP for Latin America.
  • PYMNTS talks to Token CEO Steve Kirsh about how Token helps banks comply with the EU’s PSD2.
  • Clari5 Enterprise Fraud Management from CustomerXPs named Best Fraud Detection Product Award at Operational Risk Awards held by Operational Risk magazine and Risk.net.
  • David Foss officially appointed new CEO at Jack Henry.
  • ThreatMetrix sees 52% YOY revenue growth, now serves 17 top global FIs.

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

  • Klarna Raises $35 Million in ‘First Small Step” into Debt Financing
  • D3 Banking Brings in $10 Million from West Partners
  • LendingTree Launches CRA-Eligibility Tool
  • Encap Security Acquired by Client, AllClear ID
  • Avoka Locks in $12 Million in New Investment

Around the web

  • Banco CTT goes live with customer onboarding solution developed by Novabase.
  • Canada’s ATB Financial and Germany’s ReiseBank use Ripple to complete world’s first banking transfer using blockchain.
  • Wired UK profiles Fidor, “the fintech bank run by its customers.”
  • Asseco South Eastern Europe (SEE) named a Representative Vendor in Gartner’s report on open unified digital banking platforms.
  • Fortune.com’s list of the five hottest companies in fintech features alums Kensho and Ripple.
  • Kasasa’s MoneyIsland money-management game for children ranks among iTunes’ most popular apps.
  • Chip-Chap bitcoin marketplace leverages SafetyPay as a payment method.
  • OnDeck launches Accountant Advisor Program to help accountants arrange financing for their small business clients.

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.

With Ripple, Seven Banks Test Out the Blockchain

RippleHomepage

Enterprise block chain solutions-provider Ripple has reached a “tipping point” as bank clients have transitioned from blockchain experimentation to deployment. This week the California-based company announced it is helping seven banks accelerate and improve their cross-border payments.

These aren’t just any seven financial institutions. The addition of the new players place 12 of the top 50 global banks as clients in the Ripple network. Here’s the list of new clients:

  • Santander
  • UniCredit
  • UBS
  • Reisebank
  • CIBC
  • ATB Financial
  • National Bank of Abu Dhabi

In a blog post, Ripple CEO Chris Larsen says, “This is a major step forward for the global financial system, and as the Ripple network grows, together we are paving the way for new connected commerce opportunities and growing demands for real-time, high-volume, low-value global payments.”

Ripple, which has completed 30 bank pilots, uses a distributed financial ledger technology that lowers the cost of real time payments by using algorithms to find the lowest foreign exchange rate. Many of the company’s bank partners already use Ripple’s ledger to transfer real money, and all have plans to use the ledger in commercial production. Earlier this year Santander became the first U.K. bank to use Ripple for cross-border payments and currently ten of Ripple’s bank clients are in various phases of commercial deals.

So far Ripple has received positive feedback. ATB Chief Strategy and Operations Officer Curtis Stange said, “Using blockchain technology, ATB Financial became the first financial institution in Canada to complete an overseas payment in a matter of seconds.” He added, “Without blockchain, that transaction would have taken two to six business days.”

Earlier this month, we reported a partnership between Ripple and Expertus Payment Platform that lets banks test transmittal of real-time payments using the blockchain in a safe environment with minimal disruption to a bank’s existing infrastructure. Founded in 2009, Ripple launched the Ripple Network at FinovateSpring 2013 under the name OpenCoin.