Finovate Alums Take Top Honors at FinTech Breakthrough Awards

Dedicated to recognizing “the top companies and products in the financial services and technology industry today,” FinTech Breakthrough has announced its FinTech Breakthrough Award Winners for 2018. This marks the second year the independent organization has sponsored the fintech awards event, recognizing fintech startups and veterans from a wide variety of categories including payments, lending, investing, and regtech.

“The FinTech Breakthrough Awards serve as a testament to the passion, skill and vision of individuals and teams that are truly setting the standard for innovation in the global FinTech industry,” Managing Director for FinTech Breakthrough James Johnson said in 2017 during the Awards’ inaugural year. “We are thrilled to recognize all of the FinTech Breakthrough Award winners for their well-deserved industry recognition as they drive the global FinTech market forward.”

This year featured 20 Finovate alums earning top honors from FinTech Breakthrough. The names and Finovate demo dates for each winning alum – as well as the category they won – are featured below. For a complete list of 2018 FinTech Breakthrough Award Winners, visit the company’s awards announcement page.

Leadership

Consumer Lending

  • Innovation Award for Consumer Lending – Text for Credit by Experian (FF17)

Business Lending

Wealth Management

Payments

Investments

Consumer Banking

Financial Research and Data

Fraud Prevention and Transaction Security

This marks the second time both eMoney Advisor and ThreatMetrix have been honored by the FinTech Breakthrough Awards. Among last year’s winners were a significant number of Finovate alums including: Sindeo, BizFi, DriveWealth, Quovo, Jumio, Trulioo, Qumram, and Xero.

Stash Teams with Green Dot to Become a Challenger Bank

Stash Teams with Green Dot to Become a Challenger Bank

 

Mobile financial services company Stash first revealed its plans to launch banking services in October of last year, positioning itself as a challenger bank with mobile-centric investment and retirement capabilities. And, as with all U.S.-based challenger banks, Stash will house the funds at a traditional bank. Today, the New York-based company announced it has selected Green Dot and its subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC, to keep user’s funds safe.

Through the partnership with Green Dot, Stash will deliver debit cards with no overdraft fees and provide access to a network of free ATMs across the U.S. The app will also share insight into clients’ financial health, with actionable advice on spending, saving, investing, and retirement via Stash Coach. But don’t get too excited– Stash has yet to go live with the banking services and hasn’t hinted at its timeline or anticipated pricing.

In a statement, Brandon Krieg, CEO and cofounder of Stash, said: “Layering Green Dot’s robust Banking as a Service platform with Stash’s full suite of offerings will provide innovative, affordable tools to teach healthy financial habits, relieve financial stress, and help our clients save and invest more money.”

Founded in 1999, Green Dot debuted its own mobile-first banking service, GoBank, at FinovateSpring 2013. The account offers mobile banking, check deposit, and P2P money transfer services.

“Stash is committed to being a true partner and source of support for our clients, and for those who have systematically been left behind,” said Krieg. This sentiment is reflected in Stash’s updated mission which states, “We started Stash to simplify investing, but our true mission runs deeper. Today, your financial products too often fail you. We believe everyone should have access to financial education, technology, and services that help them achieve their life goals.”

Founded in 2015, Stash serves two million customers on its mobile investment platform, which allows users to choose from a selection of over 40 curated ETFs. The company doesn’t collect add-on commissions or trading fees, and charges $1 per month for accounts under $5,000. Users with portfolios over that threshold pay 0.25% per year. Stash’s growth bodes well for future banking developments– the company currently has 40,000 new clients joining each week.

Krieg debuted Stash Retire at FinovateFall 2017. In November of 2017, KPMG and H2 Ventures named the company on its 2017 Fintech 100 list. In February of this year, Stash raised $37.5 million and unveiled custodial investment accounts to allow Stash clients to open new accounts for minors. This is a smart move from a customer acquisition standpoint. Young users exposed to the Stash app early will be more likely to matriculate as customers of Stash’s investment and (eventually) banking services.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • PeoplesBank Partners with Gro Solutions to Enhance Mobile and Online Experience.
  • Stash Teams with Green Dot to Become a Challenger Bank.

Around the web

  • Lending Club announces Bahman Koohestani as Chief Technology Officer.
  • Yahoo partners with PayPal to make Braintree available to online sellers using Yahoo Merchant Solutions and Yahoo Stores platforms.
  • Main Street Softworks adds support for Bluefin’s Decryptx PCI-validated P2PE Decryption-as-a-Service.
  • PYMNTS.com features a conversation with Entersekt Chief Commercial Officer Dewald Nolte.

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.

Stash Raises $37.5 Million, Launches Custodial Accounts

Stash Raises $37.5 Million, Launches Custodial Accounts

Mobile-first financial platform Stash  closed $37.5 million in funding today to help Americans rethink how they invest and save. Union Square Ventures led the Series D round, with contributions also coming from existing investors Breyer Capital, Coatue Management, Entree Capital, Goodwater Capital, and Valar Ventures.

“Through customer focus and a data-driven mindset, Stash has been able to create a powerful consumer brand, with unprecedented growth, on its journey to fix the inequities plaguing financial opportunity across the U.S. We’re excited to join them on this mission to shake up the status quo,” said Rebecca Kaden, Partner at Union Square Ventures.

Stash’s Smart-Save

Today’s round brings Stash’s total funding received in its three-year history to $116.3 million. After last October’s $40 million round, Business Insider estimated the company’s value at $240 million. The New York-based company will use the funds to support the launch of its newest batch of products, including Custodial Accounts, which will be rolling out this week. Custodial Accounts will allow Stash clients to open new accounts for minors to give them a head start on their finances.

Additional new features include Smart-Save (pictured right) and Stash Coach. Smart-Save studies a user’s spending habits and uses an algorithm to determine where they have spare cash, then moves a portion of that amount into a savings account, from which clients can withdraw at any time for free. Stash Coach provides financial recommendations and challenges, while providing guidance and support for accomplishments.

“Stash’s goal since day one has been to help the masses of underserved Americans jump start their journey towards building a healthy and prosperous future,” said Brandon Krieg, co-founder and CEO of Stash. “Through intelligent products and an emphasis on education, we’ve been able to meaningfully improve the financial lives of nearly two million clients. We’re proud of what our customers have accomplished, but we’re even more excited for what’s ahead.”

Stash currently serves over 1.7 million clients on its investing platform, which allows users to choose from a selection of over 40 curated ETFs, and is showing strong growth– approximately 40,000 new clients join its investing platform weekly. The company counts 5 million subscribers to Stash Learn, a financial education content newsletter.

The company’s mobile investing platform doesn’t collect add-on commissions or trading fees, and charges $1 per month for accounts under $5,000. Users with portfolios over that threshold pay 0.25% per year. For all accounts, Stash has lowered the overdraft fee to $0.50 for returned deposits. This is significantly lower than the $35 average overdraft fee that traditional banks charge.

Krieg debuted Stash Retire at FinovateFall 2017. In November of last year, KPMG and H2 Ventures named the company on its 2017 Fintech 100 list. The month prior, Stash announced plans to expand its platform from investing to a more robust banking service. This is part of the rebundling of fintech trend that many analysts predicted would dominate 2018.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Dwolla Lands $12 Million.
  • Larky Deepens Partnership with Core Processing Solutions Provider Sharetec.
  • Stash Raises $37.5 Million, Launches Custodial Accounts.
  • NetGuardians Inks Agreement with FirstOntario Credit Union.

Around the web

  • InComm subsidiary On-Line Strategies launches partnership with National Bankcard Services to enable prepaid at the gas pump.
  • Neustar expands its DDoS mitigation defense network in EMEA.

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

  • Tinkoff Brings Stories to Mobile Banking
  • Meed Leverages ID Verification Solutions from Jumio to Serve the Underbanked

Around the web

  • The 61-member Japan Bank Consortium launches Ripple pilot with South Korean banks Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank.
  • Thomson Reuters adds compliance training courses to help ensure MiFID II compliance.
  • PayPal makes undisclosed investment in Berlin-based deposit marketplace Raisin.
  • ACI Worldwide partners with HyperPay to bring real-time fraud prevention solutions to ecommerce merchants in the MENA region.
  • SME Finance Forum honors Strands with Best Partnership award at its First Membership Engagement Awards event.
  • nCino EVP of Product Development Trisha Price joins Jim Marous’ fintech roundtable to discuss the future of digital banking disruption.
  • Stash Invest presents its Auto-Stash feature to help investors make automatic, recurring investment contributions.
  • SuiteBox introduces its VideoSign Proof of Signature technology.
  • defi SOLUTIONS earns recognition as one of the top 100 fastest-growing privately-held businesses in Dallas, Texas area.

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.

KPMG, H2 Ventures Unveil Fintech 100 for 2017

KPMG, H2 Ventures Unveil Fintech 100 for 2017

It’s that time of the year once again: KPMG and H2 Ventures have teamed up to introduce their Leading Global Fintech Innovators roster, the Fintech 100 for 2017. The judges for this year’s Fintech 100 included more than 20 professionals from KPMG and other organizations with expertise in IT, data analytics, capital markets, financial services, and more.

This year 11 Finovate/FinDEVr alums made the Leading 50, with another 12 alums making the Emerging 50. New entrants to the KPMG/H2 Ventures roster include SoFi and Revolut among the Leading 50. All 12 the alums on the Emerging 50 are making their first appearance. See the full list.

Some of the highlights from the 2017 Fintech 100 include the observation that five of the roster’s top 10 companies are from China, as are the top three companies on the list: Ant Financial, ZhongAn, and Qudian (Qufenqi). The U.S. has a pair of companies in the top five: Oscar and Avant, and Europe and the U.K. each have one company in the top ten: Kreditech and Atom Bank, respectively.

Speaking of Asia, the Asia-Pacific region has 30 fintech companies in the top 100. The United States has 19 companies – the most from any single country – and the U.K. and EMEA areas have 41 companies in the list. The U.K. and EMEA region are also responsible for the highest number of companies on KPMG/H2 Ventures’ Emerging 50 list with 26.

With regard to sectors within fintech, the Fintech 100 breaks down as follows:

  • 32 lending companies
  • 21 payments companies
  • 14 transaction and capital markets companies
  • 12 insurance/insurtech companies
  • 7 wealth management/wealthtech companies
  • 6 cybersecurity/regtech companies
  • 4 blockchain/digital currency companies
  • 3 data and analytics companies

Alums from the Leading 50

Alums from the Emerging Stars

Stash Reveals Plans to Launch Mobile-First Banking Service

Stash Reveals Plans to Launch Mobile-First Banking Service

 

Mobile-first investment platform Stash is about to go mobile-first in the field of online banking. The New York City-based startup, which demonstrated its Stash Retire solution at its Finovate debut last month at FinovateFall, announced today that it plans to offer a variety of banking services for mobile-centric customers.

“When we launched the Stash platform, we redefined the financial services experience by providing affordable access and education to millions of Americans,” Stash CEO and Co-Founder Brandon Krieg explained in a statement. “Our new banking services will take that promise a step further. We are pioneering ways to relieve stress and improve our clients’ financial security for years to come.”

Stash CEO and co-founder Brandon Krieg demonstrating Stash Retire at FinovateFall 2017.

The services, bundled as Stash Banking and slated to be available in early 2018, include common banking solutions such as billpay, direct deposit, and debit cards. The platform has a goals-based savings feature, with auto and smart-save functionality as well as access to Stash’s proprietary long-term financial security strategy, The Stash Plan. Accounts with Stash Banking are free, FDIC-insured, with no fees, no minimum balance requirement and are accessible via the largest ATM network in the U.S.

Talking about the decision to launch the new service, Ed Robinson, President and co-founder of Stash, emphasized both the potential cost savings and the opportunity to provide better support and guidance to financial services customers. “When we talked to our clients and analyzed their expenses, we were shocked by how much they were paying in fees,” Robinson said. “We dug deeper and discovered traditional banks offered very little guidance or tools to help Americans manage their money,” he added. “We’re building our banking services to solve that and bring new tools, coaching and complete transparency to the process.”

Founded in 2015, Stash demonstrated its Stash Retire solution at FinovateFall 2017. Stash Retire gives investors the opportunity to participate in low-fee, self-directed IRA accounts while still taking advantage of Stash Invest’s core features such as auto-invest and the ability to invest in increments as small as $5. With more than 2.5 million subscribers and more than 1 million clients, Stash has raised more than $78 million in funding, including a $40 million Series C completed this summer. The company includes Breyer Capital, Coatue Management, Goodwater Capital, and Valar Ventures among its investors.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Efigence Teams Up with Alior Bank, Telekom Romania to Help Launch Telekom Banking.
  • Mastercard Takes Blockchain Mainstream with API.
  • Zighra Launches Flagship Continuous Authentication Product.
  • Stash Reveals Plans to Launch Mobile-First Banking Service.

Around the web

  • Latvian Bank Citadele secures mobile and online banking with VASCO’s DIGIPASS for Apps and CRONTO
  • Azimo’s momentum continues with triple-digit growth.
  • Visa to offer ThreatMetrix technologies through its Visa ID Intelligence platform.
  • Lendio joins lending platform association.
  • Dream Payments unveils its point of sale solution for First Data’s Clover merchants.

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.

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Stash

FinovateFall Sneak Peek: Stash

A look at the companies demoing live at FinovateFall on September 11 through 14 in New York. Pick up your tickets today and save your spot.

Stash Retire from Stash simplifies how investors can save and invest for retirement. Stash is offering its investors Roth IRA accounts with low fees and a focus on education.

Features

  • Simple
  • Accessible
  • Educational

Why it’s a must-see
Stash: save, invest, retire. Empowering the next generation of Americans to conquer their financial futures.

Presenters

Brandon Krieg, Co-founder and CEO
Krieg is the CEO and Co-founder of Stash. Prior to Stash, he spent more than 15 years in financial services, most recently at Macquarie Securities Group.
LinkedIn

 

Ed Robinson, Co-founder and President
Robinson is President and Co-founder of Stash. With expertise in risk management, asset allocation, and global markets, he has held many management roles internationally.
LinkedIn

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Emailage Raises $10 Million in Round Led by Anthos Capital.

Around the web

  • Federacion Nacional de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Credito selects core banking technology from Temenos.
  • Azimo introduces “one hour or less” cash pick-up services in the Philippines.
  • ING Bank in Czech Republic to deploy decision management software from FICO.
  • Virtual StrongBox secures 5th patent for secure document exchange technology.

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.