Finovate Alums Populate the FinTech50

Looking for the most innovative startups in fintech? The FinTech50 is a great place to start.

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It also turns out to be a great place to find Finovate alums. Of the 50 companies recognized by FinTechCity’s panels of judges as being “game-changers transforming the future of finance,” nearly half are alumni of Finovate conferences – including our upcoming event in London.
Here is the list of alums in alphabetical order:
According to Chris Skinner, who was one of the panelists, more than 700 companies competed for spots in the FinTech50. The selection panel included veterans of finance and technology from companies ranging from American Express and Google to Silicon Valley Bank and UBS. The FinTech50 winners were announced at an invitation-only event in London.
Speaking of London, Five Degrees, InvoiceSharing, Ixaris, mBank, and Trunomi will be in town next month, demonstrating their latest solutions at FinovateEurope 2015, February 10 and 11. More information on the event available here.

TransferWise Raises $58 Million in Round Led by Andreessen Horowitz

Thumbnail image for TransferwiseNewLogo.jpgTransferWise is starting off the year with a funding bang: the company has raised $58 million in a Series C round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The investment takes TransferWise’s total capital to more than $90 million. Existing investors Richard Branson, IA Ventures, Index Ventures, Valar Ventures, and Seedcamp also participated in the round.
Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of TransferWise said: “Andreessen Horowitz’s investment in TransferWise shows how ripe financial services are for disruption.” 
“For too long, legacy providers’ dominance of the market has allowed consumers to be hoodwinked into paying huge hidden charges for services as basic as currency exchange.”
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Ben Horowitz, founder of Andreessen Horowitz, referred to this insight the discovery of “an important secret” and called TransferWise “uniquely prepared to pursue it.” 
He added: “Not only is (TransferWise’s) solution 10 times better than the old way of exchanging foreign currency, but it could not have come at a better time.” Both Hinrikus and Horowitz pointed to the lack of innovation as a “massive opportunity” for companies like TransferWise.
The company plans to use the capital to drive global expansion. TransferWise is opening an office in the United States in February according to reporting by TechCrunch, and are looking to open offices in Germany and Austria in the first half of 2015, as well. The goal for the year is to open an additional 300 “currency routes.”
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(Above, left to right: Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus, co-founders of TransferWise at FinovateEurope 2013)

TransferWise enables money transfers between the U.S. and Canadian dollars as well as the euro, British pound, Swiss franc, and another 10 European currencies. Customers using the platform can also transfer these currencies into a number of Asian currencies including the Australian, Hong Kong and Singaporean dollars, and the Indian rupee. See the full list here.
A few metrics for TransferWise:
  • Launched in 2011
  • Headquartered in London
  • Staffs 250
  • Maintains more than 290 currency routes
  • Enabled customer transfers of £3 billion for a savings of £135 million
The company has been making headlines, as well, appearing in Motley Fool’s list of fintech startups that can help consumer handle their money in 2015, and with its peers Azimo and CurrencyFair in a recent look at disruption in traditional money exchange from Forbes.com. In December, TransferWise was named one of  KPMG’s Fintech Innovators of 2014
TransferWise demoed its technology as part of FinovateEurope 2013.

Alumni News– January 26, 2015

  • 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.jpgMIT Technology Review features Feedzai and Zumigo in a discussion on mobile authentication technologies.
  • Loan origination platform LoanLaunch (formerly Common Origination Platform) now available from Fiserv.
  • Experian partners with BillGuard to boost effectiveness of its anti-fraud solution, ProtectMyID.
  • Misys unveils FusionBanking Lending.
  • American Banker takes a look at the relationship between Google and Lending Club.
  • Kabbage named one of America’s top 100 Most Promising Companies 
  • Coinbase to open the first regulated Bitcoin exchange in the U.S. 
  • Actiance announces support for IBM Verse and IBM Connections Social Cloud.
  • Credit Sesame launches iOS app with Siri integration in its credit monitoring feature.
  • Google Wallet partners with WePay to put its Instant Buy API in 200,000 e-commerce shops.
  • TransferWise Raises $58 Million in Round Led by Andreessen Horowitz.
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– January 12, 2015

  • 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.jpgFinancial Simplicity and T&C Consulting launch joint venture.
  • Bernard Lunn writes about the revolutionary “license as a service model” of Fidor Bank.
  • Forbes column on technology and community features Bright Funds.
  • ABS-CBN News highlights Toshl Finance among its “5 money moves for 2015.”
  • Business Insider looks to TipRanks to find top stock pickers from 2014.
  • BillGuard, LoopPay, and TransferWise earn spots on Motley Fool’s list of fintech startups that can help consumers handle money in 2015.
  • Open Bank Project is organizing 2 hackathons in Ireland (Dublin and Belfast) for Ulster bank. The first is in Dublin this month.
  • No Need to Fax: Kofax Launches E-Signature Solution, SignDoc.
  • Cachet Financial Solutions appoints Bruce Whitmore as New Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer.
  • Bluefin Payment Systems partners with Industry Retail Group (IRG) to provide PCI-Validated Point-to-Point Encryption to IRG Clients.
  • AdviceGames CEO Diederick van Thiel, Talks About Gamification.
  • Mobile Commerce Daily reviews PayPal’s new BlackBerry app.
  • DoughRoller interviews Blooom founder Chris Costello.
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– December 19, 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.jpgMoney Facts looks at how TransferWise helps consumers save on money transfer fees.
  • Huffington Post features Matthew Goldman of Wallaby Financial in a conversation on credit card strategies for travelers.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews LoopPay Chief Technologist George Wallner.
  • A comparison between Stockholm and Silicon Valley in The Independent highlights Klarna.
  • Virtual Agent Chat checks in on post-acquisition IntelliResponse.
  • Cardflight’s SwipeSimple joins MasterCard mPOS providers.
  • News.com.au reports: How Xero went from a scribbled figure on a serviette to a $2 billion company.
  • Crealogix and Meniga create Digital Bank and PFM Solution for BNP’s Consors Bank.
  • peerTransfer named 2014 Winner of BostInno’s 50 on Fire Award.
  • Forbes lists Holvi as 1 of 5 Finnish startups to watch.
  • Programmable Web considers how Open Bank Project’s API brings more openness to banking internationally.
  • Ayondo launches ad campaign on 2 major German TV networks.
  • Business Insider features Betterment, Financial Guard, FutureAdvisor, Jemstep, Personal Capital, SigFig, TradeKing, and Wealthfront in a look at the growth of robo-advisors.
  • BrightScope releases its Top 30 401(k) Plans List.
  • Management Today profiles David Harrison, managing partner at True Potential.
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.

Alumni News– December 2, 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.jpgCompass Plus TranzAxis now supports Futurex hardware security modules.
  • Coinbase introduces USD Wallets, enabling users to store U.S. dollar balances.
  • TradeKing unveils new features for its new LIVE platform.
  • Forbes column on disruption in traditional money exchange features Azimo, TransferWise, and CurrencyFair.
  • CrowdFlower announces support for eight new languages and enhanced support for another four.
  • CEO and co-founder of Trustev Pat Phelan wins MSL Cork Business Person of the Year award.
  • Linqto, Crowd Curity, Xignite, and CUneXus win Future of Money & Technology Summit Startup Showcase.
  • TickSmith adds Amazon Web Services version of its financial big data platforms.
  • The New Daily features SocietyOne as a premium P2P lending option.
  • The Chicago Tribune considers Lending Club’s impending IPO.
  • Google Cloud Platform now PCI compliant, enabling developers to hold, process, and exchange credit card information.
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.

TransferWise Launches “Stop Hidden Fees” Campaign

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A few weeks ago we reported how international money transfer innovator, TransferWise was taking to the streets of London on the eve of Halloween to protest hidden fees in the money transfer industry.

Today, we’re back to report that the fight is still on.

On Thursday, TransferWise launched the next stage in its offensive to bring greater transparency to bank and brokerage fees. The company hosted an event at Westminster, unveiled an online petition calling for the end of hidden fees, and earned a statement of support from Chi Onwurah MP, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Digital Government:
“After the Libor and forex scandals, public confidence in foreign exchange transactions is at an all time low. So I welcome TransferWise’s campaign for greater transparency. I want UK holiday makers to get the best deal possible – and know what they are being charged.”
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TransferWise issued a three-point manifesto calling on banks and brokers to:
    • Provide a clear breakdown of the costs associated with every transaction
    • Publish the difference between the exchange rate offered by the provider and the true, mid-market rate
    • Put an end to the use of misleading terms such as “free” and “0% commission” where hidden charges are applied.
Co-Founder of TransferWise Taavet Hinrikus said, “In fact, hidden fees are so pervasive in the industry, we sometimes struggle to convince potential customers that ‘free’ or ‘0% commission’ services aren’t free at all.”
“Our polling shows that 58% of Brits would consider shopping around for their financial services if they could compare prices more easily,” he added.
Based in London and founded in 2010, TransferWise was last on the Finovate stage for the London conference in 2013. See a video of the company’s demonstration from FinovateEurope here.

Alumni News– November 20, 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.jpgPrivatbank customers can now use MoneyGram to send and receive funds courtesy of new partnership.
  • Financial Times Technology section looks at UK fintech startups TransferWise and Azimo.
  • CurrencyTransfer recognized by Secret Tel Aviv as Olim Business of the Week.
  • USA Today column on millennials and saving featured Tom White, CEO of iQuantifi.
  • TransferWise helps lead fight for foreign exchange fee transparency.
  • iBillionaire’s Index has increased 16.5% since launching in November of last year
  • Swipely now managing $4+ billion in annual sales, doubles sales under management in 6 months,  and provides businesses with insights on 20+ million customers.
  • Numerous Finovate and FinDEVr alums make AWI’s list of top 50 fintech innovators.
  • Advanced Merchant Payments brings in $5 Million in First Funding Round.
  • Kony helps Farmatodo increase customer loyalty and deliver new services via mobile apps.
  • Coinbase teams with Rewardspay to create workaround to make purchases on Facebook and iTunes with Bitcoin.
  • TSYS offers merchants and partners an omni payments solution with more ways to accept payments.
  • $493 million in P2P loans originated on Prosper in Q3 2014.
  • Credit Sesame wins 2014 U.S. Mobile and App Design Awards in Financial and Information Tools category.
  • BancVue wins four MarCom Gold awards.
  • Kensho launches strategic partnership with NBCUniversal.
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 17, 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.jpgBoku announces a pair of C-level appointments: Ingo Lippert as CBO, Christian Hinrichs as CFO.
  • Zopa partners with AltFi Data; plans to open loan book to the public in Q1 in 2015.
  • The Sunday Times profiles TransferWise founders Kristo Kaarmann and Taavet Hinrikus.
  • Bolstr surpasses $200,000 in 2014 investor payouts
  • Expensify featured in Slate. Check out the video.
  • Billhighway’s 523% Four-Year Growth earns it the #193 Spot on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 List.
  • ChicagoInno features Arroweye Solutions and Rippleshot for their listings on the FinTech Forward Rankings.
  • Check out Finovate Debuts: Minetta Brook’s Knewsapp.
  • MetaIntelli and Arxan Technologies partner to help developers mitigate mobile security and privacy risks.
  • Venmo gets Touch ID security, tagging, and direct linking to bank accounts.
  • MyBankTracker examines how 1U is using Hoyos‘ facial recognition security technology.
  • InComm launches New eCommerce Site for B2B Bulk Gift Cards.
  • Bluefin joins the New York Bankers Association.
  • Google Compute Engine now features intelligent horizontal Autoscaling.
  • Wharton Fintech blog features Knox Payments.
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.

TransferWise Hits London with #RIPHiddenfees Halloween Parade

TransferWise Hits London with #RIPHiddenfees Halloween Parade
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With a giant, inflatable tombstone inscribed “RIP Hidden Fees” looming overhead, international money transfer startup, TransferWise used a horde of Halloween ghouls and more than a little theatre, to put traditional banks on notice when it comes to hidden charges.

Led by a hearse, the parade of costumed TransferWisers and its customers marched through the City of London to the Silicon Roundabout tech cluster. The crowd of goblins and ghosts numbered more than one hundred and claimed to be “lay(ing) misleading price claims” to rest.

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See for yourself. Below is actual footage of the fee-eating zombies making their way down Old Street Roundabout on Thursday (All Hallow’s Eve Eve?).
TransferWise is one of fintech’s more creative marketers. The company announced a major redesign last month, and accompanied it with a fun, cheeky TV advertisement that similarly heralded the beginning of the end of bank fees.
TransferWise has been recognized as an innovator in the money transfer space by a variety observers, earning a spot in CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list earlier this year. The company has attracted the interest of the investment community in 2014, as well, announcing an investment of $25 million and the support of investor, Sir Richard Branson.
TransferWise demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. See a video of the company’s presentation.

And because nothing beats a doubleheader, here’s a little more movie fun, this time from the clever folks at Moven. Have a great weekend!

Alumni News– October 27, 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.jpgFeedzai and Encap Security team up to combine behavioral profiling with device credentialing to build better security for banks and merchants.
  • CB Insights lists Nutmeg, TransferWise, The Currency Cloud, and Azimo among the 10 top fintech startups from the UK.
  • The Guardian Money section looks at peer-to-peer lender including Zopa.
  • TWiST (This Week in Startups) interviews FutureAdvisor Co-Founder and CEO Bo Lu.
  • Prosper reaches $2 billion, reaching the second billion dollars in just 6 months.
  • Payment processing solutions provider, Bill2Pay, partners with PayNearMe to digitize cash collections.
  • The Australian Business Review features Matt Symons, SocietyOne co-founder.
  • EVO* Snap launches mPOS Solution Supporting Apple Pay and EMV Globally.
  • MedicalMine and Bluefin Partner for Integrated Patient Payments.
  • Check out our feature on Xignite: Inspiring the Future of Finance with Easy and Speedy APIs
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.