Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • SumUp Unveils New Financing of Undisclosed Amount
  • FinDEVr 2015: First Round of Presenting Companies Revealed
  • Ixaris Launches Initial Phase of Open Payment Ecosystem (OPE) Project

Around the web

  • Prosper to charge fee for investors who bundle loans into bonds.
  • Spreedly now supports third-party tokens.
  • US Bank signs five-year renewal for Fiserv digital payment suite, including CheckFree RXP, Popmoney, and TransferNow solutions.
  • LendingTree announces new CFO, COO, CTO, and CRO.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews Jonathan Hancock, TSYS director of fraud-management solutions.
  • Lending Robot launches new, default ‘fully automated’ mode, that allows users to set a risk profile on a slider bar.
  • Lending Club partners with nonprofit Opportunity Fund to feed loans rejected by Lending Club.
  • Backbase set to launch its first hackathon, 19/20 June 2015.
  • EuroNews features Kabbage, Lending Club, and On Deck.
  • Actiance launches Actiance Trusted Communities to enable companies to communicate with counterparts while meeting regulations.
  • Blackhawk Network to acquire Achievers Corp.
  • Global Debt Registry makes Account Extinguishment Reports (AERs) available free to consumers using its Debt Lookup service.
  • Top Image Systems Achieves Certification with PaperStream IP Image Enhancement Solution.

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.

SumUp Unveils New Financing

SumUp Unveils New Financing

SumUpHomepage

U.K.-based payments startup SumUp announced a new round of funding today. While the amount remains undisclosed, SumUp CEO Daniel Klein confirmed that the company has now raised a total of $45 million in funding since it was founded in 2012.

According to TechCrunch, Klein estimates the company is now valued somewhere in the range of “healthy hundreds of million” euros.

The newest round comes from Venture Incubator AG, a firm that includes ABB, Bühler, Credit Suisse, Hilti, Nestlé, Novartis, Schindler, SUVA, Sulzer and ZKB. This list of heavy-hitters should come as no surprise, since SumUp’s earlier rounds were led by American Express, Groupon, BBVA and other renowned venture-capital firms.

SumUp’s mobile point-of-sale system includes Chip & PIN as well as EMV processing technology, available on Android and iOS mobile apps. The company will use the funding in two ways:

SumUpCardReader1) Focus on contactless payment hardware.
SumUp differentiates itself by being as vertically integrated as possible. That means that it designs all of its own hardware, and does not rely on third parties. The company sells its terminal for around $90, and considers the hardware to be one of its competitive advantages. Says CEO Klein, “We’ve reached a competitive point in this respect for us to be able to produce terminals at a cost that is lower when we sell it. We are already making a profit on our hardware and continue to do so.”

2) Expand its geographical reach.
SumUp currently operates in 13 countries, and will add two more this year, one of which will be Sweden.

SumUp reported 300,000 merchant customers as of last month. In the last six months, sales volume has doubled on the platform. The startup plans to be profitable by next year.

The company launched at FinovateEurope 2013 in London where it won Best of Show for its portable card reader and point-of-sale solution.

 

 

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • FreeAgent to Crowdfund $1.6 Million Funding Round
  • edo Interactive Completes $20 Million Series E Round; Names Badran CEO, President

Around the web

  • Halliburton Federal CU to use Insuritas to launch insurance agency.
  • Receivables Exchange appoints James W. Toffey as new CEO.
  • PayPal, Xero, Intuit, HelloWallet, & TD Ameritrade win 2015 Webby Awards.
  • TransferWise launches updated Android app with one-tap payments for more than 360 currency routes.
  • SumUp releases SumUp terminal payment SDKs for iOS and Android.
  • AMP Credit Technologies appoints chief technology officer.
  • Dwolla launches ability to schedule recurring payments for a specific day, recurring schedules, and cancellation criteria.
  • NICE Systems sells its cyber and intelligence division to Elbit Systems for $158 million.
  • Photos from FinovateSpring 2015 last week are now available on the Finovate Flickr feed.
  • OptionNET Taps Tradier for Rollout of Trading Directly from Their Platform.
  • Kabbage partners with Sage Payment Solutions to create small business loan offering.
  • PayPal’s OneTouch checkout service now supports all merchants using BigCommerce, even when consumers don’t have the PayPal app installed.

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

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 Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

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.
50Fintechreport.jpg
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.

Alumni News– November 5, 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 Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBraintree announces new service that makes it easier for merchants to sign up for the platform.
  • MasterCard launches MasterPass in Czech Republic.
  • CAN Capital to offer loans via Yodlee’s Small Business solution.
  • PayPal’s Venmo to power payments for web and mobile chat app, Dasher.
  • Wall Street Sector Selector highlights Financial Guard and lists Betterment, FutureAdvisor, Jemstep, Nutmeg, SigFig, and Wealthfront in a column on using roboadvisors with retirement accounts.
  • SumUp partners with BitPay to integrate bitcoin into its mPOS solution.
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– August 29, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgHeckyl to provide real-time news and data analytics courtesy of new partnership with Marketware International.
  • Diebold brings deposit automation and cash recycling services to consumers and FIs in Brazil. See Diebold at FinovateFall in September.
  • Dwolla makes MassPay official, offers a simpler experience with increased stability, improved reporting, and increased transactions per batch.
  • PYMNTS talks with SumUp CEO Daniel Klein, to understand how it views innovation in the mPOS space.
  • PayPal launches tool, PayPal Demo, to help developers show merchants the difference between different PayPal payment options.
  • CNBC’s National Business Report interviews Scott Goldman, CEO of TextPower.
  • American Banker profiles FinovateSpring 2014 Best of Show winner, Stockpile.
  • CNET takes a look at Lending Club in the wake of the company’s IPO filing.
    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– August 18, 2014

    • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgSilanis Technology releases e-signature solutions for Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. See Silanis at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.
    • Michael Grillo of ACI Worldwide talks about the role of mobile devices in fighting payments fraud.
    • Klarna announces appointment of Jon Kamaluddin to its Board of Directors.
    • SumUp earns double-digit million dollar investment led by Life.SREDA
    • Xero’s Customer Experience team wins Bronze Stevie Award in 2014 International Business Award. Check out Xero’s presentation at FinDEVr in San Francisco this October.
    • TechCrunch: Coinbase acquires blockchain explorer, Blockr.io.
    • Silicon Angle: Why Cardlytics ditched sample data for its real-time analytics tactics.
    • EE Times reviews the similarities and differences between Ripple and bitcoin.
    • Forbes column on “the other sharing economy” profiles Expensify
    • Investors.com checks in with Betterment on strategies for meeting retirement financial challenges.
    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.

    SumUp Announces Double-Digit Million Dollar Investment Led by Life.SREDA

    SumUp Announces Double-Digit Million Dollar Investment Led by Life.SREDA

    Thumbnail image for SumUpHiLogo.jpg

    There are many nice ways to qualify an “amount undisclosed” investment. But “double-digit million” is probably near the top of the list.

    SumUp, specialists in the field of mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) technology, announced today that it had completed a new round of funding. Characterized by the company as a “double-digit million dollar” investment, the round was led by Life.SREDA, and featured participation from Groupon, BBVA Ventures, and other existing investors.

    LifeSREDA_logo_jpeg
    Like the company’s Series B round a year ago, the exact amount of this new investment was not made available. Last year’s investment was characterized as “multi-million euro”. 

    Update: Crunchbase reports that the amount has been rumored at $13 million.

    Daniel Klein, SumUP CEO, pointed to Life.SREDA’s experience in the fintech space worldwide. “Life.SREDA is building an eco-system of companies disrupting a wide range of financial services and products. We are happy to become a part of this network.”
    For its part, Life.SREDA praised SumUp’s focus on “end-to-end payment capabilities” such as the company’s proprietary Chip & Pin terminal. Life.SREDA CFO Alex Ivanov said, “no other mPOS player in the world has focused so much on disrupting the actual technology behind the revolutionary mPOS business model.”
    SumUp_homepage
    SumUp says that the new capital will help fund building out its payments gateway, proprietary hardware, and operations systems. Part of this will be a push to help promote the company’s Chip & Pin terminal, called “PIN+” internationally.
    Founded in 2011, SumUp is based in Dublin, Ireland. The company demoed its mPOS technology as part of FinovateEurope 2013, where SumUp earned Best of Show honors. See the company’s demo video here.

    SumUp Announces Double-Digit Million Dollar Investment Led by Life.SREDA

    SumUp Announces Double-Digit Million Dollar Investment Led by Life.SREDA

    Thumbnail image for SumUpHiLogo.jpg

    There are many nice ways to qualify an “amount undisclosed” investment. But “double-digit million” is probably near the top of the list.

    SumUp, specialists in the field of mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) technology, announced today that it had completed a new round of funding. Characterized by the company as a “double-digit million dollar” investment, the round was led by Life.SREDA, and featured participation from Groupon, BBVA Ventures, and other existing investors.

    LifeSREDA_logo_jpeg
    Like the company’s Series B round a year ago, the exact amount of this new investment was not made available. Last year’s investment was characterized as “multi-million euro”. 

    Update: Crunchbase reports that the amount has been rumored at $13 million.

    Daniel Klein, SumUP CEO, pointed to Life.SREDA’s experience in the fintech space worldwide. “Life.SREDA is building an eco-system of companies disrupting a wide range of financial services and products. We are happy to become a part of this network.”
    For its part, Life.SREDA praised SumUp’s focus on “end-to-end payment capabilities” such as the company’s proprietary Chip & Pin terminal. Life.SREDA CFO Alex Ivanov said, “no other mPOS player in the world has focused so much on disrupting the actual technology behind the revolutionary mPOS business model.”
    SumUp_homepage
    SumUp says that the new capital will help fund building out its payments gateway, proprietary hardware, and operations systems. Part of this will be a push to help promote the company’s Chip & Pin terminal, called “PIN+” internationally.
    Founded in 2011, SumUp is based in Dublin, Ireland. The company demoed its mPOS technology as part of FinovateEurope 2013, where SumUp earned Best of Show honors. See the company’s demo video here.

    Finovate Alumni News– May 29, 2014

    • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgChina Loves Mambu: Microfinance Network Picks Cloud Banking Platform for SME Lending.
    • App Annie Acquires Distimo; raises $17 Million from Current Investors.
    • SumUp launches its own chip and PIN reader, PIN+, in Poland and Switzerland.
    • Credit Sesame launches mortgage rate marketplace.
    • DemystData brings in $5 Million for its Big Data API for financial institutions.
    • NHS Shared Business Services selects Tradeshift platform to enhance supply chain.
    • Actiance announces general availability of Alcatraz, a cloud-based, Context-Aware archive for email, social, and other communications.
    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.

    Where Are They Now? FinovateEurope 2013 Best of Show Winners

    FE2013bestofshow.jpg

    As we begin helping FinovateEurope 2014 presenters polish their demos for the show on February 11 and 12, we thought we’d take some time to catch up with last year’s best of show winners to see what they’ve been up to over the past 12 months.

    Here are last year’s winners, in alphabetical order:

    creditagricoleLogo.jpg


    Who they are: A retail bank leader in France and Europe, with 11,600 branches worldwide, 160,000 employees and 54M customers.

    What they demoed: The Credit Agricole Store, a European app store where financial apps are co-created between clients and developers thanks to the opening bank APIs.
    Demo video

    What they’ve been up to:
      • Celebrated the second year of its social media bank and attracted 3k banking customers.
      • Harnessed banking and insurance expertise to support the cooperative group Agrial in its first listed private bond placement.

    etronikaLogo2.jpg


    Who they are: an IT company that develops complex and innovative solutions for the banking and finance industries. 

    What they demoed: The BANKTRON e-channels management platform that provides front-end users elegant, safe, and secure financial products and services.
    Demo video

    What they’ve been up to:

    • Was recognized as Lithuania’s most advanced high-tech sector company in the elections of the Knowledge Economy Company 2013.
    • Released a mobile banking app for Medicinos Bankas.
    • One of the DNB Group’s Internet banks implemented BANKTRON and its newest adaptive interface.

    mbankandefigencelogo.jpg


    Who they are: mBank is a financial sector innovator that offers a full range of retail and SME financial products. Efigence specializes in online banking platforms, currency trading tools, PFM tools and social and financial data aggregation tools.

    What they demoed: Their online banking transactional site and implementation of Facebook and real-time consumer gratification.

    What they’ve been up to:
      • mBank, along with Accenture, picked up a Best of Show award at FinovateFall 2013
      • mBank announced a new transactional service, new logo, premium offer for affluent customers.
      • Efigence-powered Alior Currency Exchange awarded Innovation of the year 2012 title
      • Efigence-powered Alior Bank won the prestigious Golden Bank 2012 title

    MenigaLogo.jpg

    Who they are: They offer white-label PFM and next generation online banking solutions to retail banks.
    What they demoed: Their To buy or Not to buy, a white-label module for mobile banking applications. It uses PFM functionality to empower and influence consumers at the point of sale or when considering buying something.
    What they’ve been up to:
      • Promsvyazbank in Russia launched Meniga-powered PFM-Service
      • Raised $6.5 Million (€5 Million) to further develop PFM and online banking
      • BRE Bank launched its “new mBank”based on Meniga´s PFM solution

    MovenLogoNew.jpg

    Who they are: A neobank focused on the mobile experience and aimed at both banked and underbanked consumers.
    What they demoed: Their mobile banking experience along with how CredScore and their Spend, Save, Live tools will help consumers ma
    nage and improve their financial health
    What they’ve been up to:
      • Launched their Android app
      • Updated the iOS app
      • Received $2 million investment from Life.SREDA
      • Expanded the beta sign ups for the bank
      • Debuted Money Pulse to help users manage day-to-day finances

    OinkLogo2.jpg


    Who they are: A solution that provides a platform for kids under the age of 18 to make transactions online with parental controls.
    What they demoedAn e-commerce solution that enables kids to manage and spend money within a parent-controlled environment
    What they’ve been up to:
    • Rebranded as Oink
    • Launched new iOS mobile app
    • Contracted with Marvelous USA to provide its payment system on their site
    • Expanded to a quarter of a million users
    • Signed its first UK partners, Toy Galaxy and Toadstool
    • Won The National Parenting Center’s 2013 Seal of Approval under the Websites category.
    • Partnered with epay
    • Received Excellence in Best Practices Award from Frost & Sullivan

    PocketsUnitedLogo.jpg


    Who they are: The creator of a social payments app that helps users track and split joint expenses on-the-go.

    What they demoed: Their app that helps groups manage shared finances by giving them an easy option to repay one another
    What they’ve been up to:
    • Launched Android app
    • Presented their solution to the Bavarian Ministry of Economics

    SumUpHiLogo.jpg


    Who they are: SumUp offers an easy way for small businesses and sole traders to accept card payments securely, even on-the-go. Using only a portable card reader and an app for iOS and Android, merchants can accept card payments on their mobile device.

    What they demoed: Their mobile point of sale system
    What they’ve been up to:
    • Expanded to Latin America with launch of m-payments service in Brazil
    • Cut its transaction fee across Europe
    • Received investment from BBVA Ventures to aid in expansion to South America
    • Launched plug-and-play POS technology
    • Received multi-million Euro investment from Amex and Groupon
    • Launched in Russia and partnered with Svyaznoy Group
    • Partnered with Revel Systems to facilitate card payments
    • Began supporting AmEx in some European markets

    To be a part of the action at this year’s FinovateEurope, get your ticket here to watch a full two days of demos and vote for who you think should win Best of Show.

    Finovate Alumni Raise $825 Million in 2013, Up 79%

    FinovateFundingIMG.jpg

    Cheers to a new year! After ringing in 2014, we wanted take a look back at the capital raised by Finovate alumni in 2013. It was quite a year, with alums pulling in $825 million, $365 million more than in 2012 for an increase of about 80%.
    2013 funding summary:
      • 62 companies raised $825 million
      • Q4 had the most capital, with a total of $294 million raised by 17 companies (more than half by Xero, which landed $150 million). 
      • October was the busiest month, with $177 million raised (mostly Xero’s $150 million)
      • May was second highest with $91 million raised by 7 companies
    2012 comparison
    Last year Finovate alums took in almost twice as much as 2012, when 44 Finovate alums collectively raised $460 million. The chart below shows the quarter-by-quarter comparison for both years.
    2013YearEndTable.jpg
    Quarter 1 — blog post
    More than $155 million raised by 14 companies
    January — $57 million raised by 6 companies
    February — $56 million raised by 5 companies

    March — $42 million raised by 4 companies


    Quarter 2 — blog post
    More than $205 million raised by 15 companies
    June — $81.7 million raised by 6 companies
    May — $91.5 million raised by 7 companies
    April — $32 million raised by 2 companies

    Quarter 3 — blog post
    More than $171 million raised by 22 companies

    July — More than $63 million raised by 8 companies
    August — More than $26 million raised by 6 companies
    September — $82 million raised by 9 companies
    Quarter 4
    More than $294 million raised by 17 companies

    October— $177 raised by 6 companies
    November — More than $87 million raised by 7 companies
    December — More than $30 million raised by 6 companies

    Note: Funding that companies received before they first appeared at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? Email us at julie@finovate.com or david@finovate.com.