Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Envestnet | Yodlee Forges Strategic Partnership with United Capital
  • Finovate Debuts: Cyberfend’s BotFender Detects Attacks in Real-Time

Around the web

  • TransferWise partners with Raphaels Bank as part of Faster Payments Service integration.
  • Token opens new London office.
  • Trulioo earns top honors for ID verification in 2016 Global RegTech report.
  • Check Point Introduces First Real-Time Zero-Day Protection for Web Browsers
  • P2Binvestor Delivers Biggest Line of Credit Yet at $10 Million
  • CR2 teams up with Diamond Bank to bring next-generation ATM technology to Nigeria.

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

  • “2016 CNBC Distruptor 50 Features Klarna, Kabbage, Twilio, and Motif Investing”
  • “Ping Goes the Blockchain: Partnership Brings Consensus, Kill Switch with New Platform”
  • “Ripple Receives BitLicense to Sell XRP”

Around the web

  • FICO launches its Academic Engagement Program, helping business students get hands-on experience with analytic software.
  • Mashable features Dashlane in its list of “7 can’t miss apps.”
  • Ping Identity partners with blockchain innovator, Swirlds.
  • Braintree announces new integrations with Demandware and Netsuite.
  • Top Image Systems earns spot in the Russell Microcap Index.
  • Bloomberg Businessweek profiles TransferWise, ‘London’s Lonely Unicorn.’
  • The economist looks at Strands and Entrepreneurial Finanace Lab’s roles for businesses in developing countries.
  • Unicredit launches Appathon powered by Open Bank Project.
  • Crowdtrader looks at C.K. Mack’s new take on crowd-sourced real estate investing.

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 Lands $26 Million, Crossing into Unicorn Territory

TransferWise Lands $26 Million, Crossing into Unicorn Territory

Foreign Exchange platform TransferWise, which announced geographic expansions last month, today reports an expansion of a different nature. The London-based company pulled in $26 million, bringing its total funding to $117 million and burgeoning its valuation to $1.1 billion (according to TechCrunch), thereby making it a fintech unicorn.

The round, which the company plans to use to fuel future growth, was led by Baillie Gifford. Existing investors, which include Andreessen Horowitz and Sir Richard Branson, also participated.

At FinovateEurope 2013, TransferWise co-founders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann stood up in front of an audience of bankers with a decidedly non-bank-friendly message. There, the company announced its mission to reduce foreign exchange fees by circumventing financial institutions. Today, the company transfers $750 million each month on its platform.

TransferWise employs a workforce of more than 600 across its offices in United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, where a separate money-transfer license is required for all 50 states. The company recently received heat after one of its U.S. banking partners was scrutinized by regulators for “unsafe and unsound banking practices,” though co-founder Hinrikus states that he is confident TransferWise is in compliance.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “TransferWise Lands $26 Million, Crossing into Unicorn Territory”
  • Check out this week’s FinDEVr APIntelligence”
  • “Dashlane’s $22.5 Million in New Funding Comes with a Strategic Partner”
  • “Mitek and Avoka Team Up to Provide New Mobile Onboarding Solution”
  • “A Double-Edged Sword: Prosper Increases Rates to Attract Lenders”

Around the web

  • Lendio partners with GoDaddy marketplace to offer small business owners access to working capital.
  • Misys to integrate its FusionBanking Loan IQ technology with Debtdomain from Ipreo.
  • iSignthis announces pilot agreement with iFOREX.
  • CSI globalVCard teams up with MacNair Travel Management to develop a payment solution for travel managers and procurement professionals.
  • NuData Security partners with the National Anti-Organized Retail Crime Association (NAORCA).

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

  • “Cachet Financial Solutions to Power Mobile Account Opening for PAYTOO”
  • “First Data’s Clover Launches Ecommerce Solution”

On FinDEVr.com

  • Beyond the Bitcoin BlockChain: Coinalytics is Now Skry”

Around the web

  • Interactions partners with Arise Virtual Solutions to bring virtual assistant technology to customer care.
  • Aerospike releases version 3.8 of its database server.
  • TransferWise opens its remittance service to the U.S./Mexico regions.
  • Wealth Professional features Betterment and Wealthfront in a column on roboadvisers.
  • ThreatMetrix Updates Smart Analytics Platform.
  • “SITO Mobile Partners with Cardlytics to Power Mobile Ad Campaigns with Purchase Intelligence”
  • Bitbond joins SME Finance Forum.
  • Insuritas to power insurance agency solution for Inspire Federal Credit Union.

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 Available in Canada, eh?

TransferWise Available in Canada, eh?

TransferwiseHomepage4.15

Online foreign exchange platform TransferWise is now open for exchanges in Canadian dollars.TransferWiseCanada

The company states in a blog post: “With 3 million Canadians living abroad and almost 7 million foreign expats living in Canada, we can’t wait to start saving you money.”

Starting today, users can transfer Canadian dollars on both web and mobile interfaces to the 60 countries and 35 currencies available on the TransferWise platform.

Well known in the European fintech scene, TransferWise was founded in 2010 with a mission to circumvent banks by democratizing access to the mid-market exchange rate. Using its P2P currency-exchange marketplace, consumers avoid traditional foreign exchange fees and pay a small and transparent fee for the service.

TransferWise has raised $9.4 million from nine investors. It has become notorious for its guerrilla marketing campaigns—most of which feature nearly nude, underwear-only stunts—to promote the company’s transparent fees and to protest the hidden charges in the banking system. The company recently took home awards at the European Fintech Awards, FintechCity’s Fintech50 and Forbes’ Fintech50 (yes, there are two separate awards called Fintech50).

The London-based company debuted its product at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

Check Out Who Took Home Top Honors at Last Night’s European Fintech Awards

Check Out Who Took Home Top Honors at Last Night’s European Fintech Awards
GroupPhoto(Photo credit: http://www.fintech.nl/)

Last night in Amsterdam the 2016 European Fintech Awards celebrated innovators shaping the future of finance. A total of nine awards were presented to companies selected by a panel of judges for the quality of their pitch.

Four of the winners are Finovate and FinDEVr alums, including BehavioSec, who won the overall award of Best European Fintech Company of 2016:

BehavioSec
Category: Risk, Intelligence, and Security
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Founded: 2009
FinovateFall 2015 demo
FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presentation

Backbase
Category: Innovative Banking Software
HQ: The Netherlands
Founded: 2003
FinovateEurope 2016 demo

Kreditech
Category: Financial Inclusion
HQ: Hamburg, Germany
Founded: 2012
FinovateSpring 2014 demo

Xpenditure
Category: Best of Show, selected for the best pitch
HQ: Mechelen, Belgium
Founded: 2011
FinovateEurope 2016 demo

A total of 29 Finovate and FinDEVr alums were recognized in the European Fintech Top 100 list. Companies awarded on this list were selected by a combination of online public votes (weighted 25%) and a panel of judges (weighted 75%).

  • AdviceGames
  • Kantox
  • Aire.io
  • Klarna
  • AMP Credit Technologies
  • Kontomatik
  • Azimo
  • Kreditech
  • Backbase
  • Mambu
  • BehavioSec
  • mBank
  • Cloud Lending Solutions
  • Meniga
  • ebankIT
  • Nutmeg
  • eToro
  • Qumram
  • ETRONIKA
  • Scalable Capital
  • eWise
  • SmartEngine
  • Fenergo
  • TransferWise
  • Holvi
  • Trustly
  • IdeaBank
  • Zopa
  • InvoiceSharing

The European Fintech Awards are organized by Amsterdam-based publishing company Alex van Groningen BV. The company offers a great explanation of the awards: “The purpose of the FinTech awards is not to scientifically prove who are the best FinTech companies. The judging is primarily based on the judges’ individual ideas and views on the nominating companies using their expertise, knowledge and ideas.”

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Check Out Who Took Home Top Honors at Last Night’s European Fintech Awards”
  • “TransferWise Available in Canada, eh?”

Around the web

  • Segmint launches new features for SegmintOne.
  • Ayondo planning $155 million ‘Reverse Takeover’ IPO on Singapore Exchange.
  • SwipeStox wins Best Pitch Award at Wolves Summit.
  • “DAVO Technologies Joins Intuit’s QuickBooks Partner Platform to Offer Unique Payments Solution for Sales Tax”
  • Canada’s TD Bank goes live with Moven-powered MySpend PFM app.
  • Celent names CBW Bank 2016 Model Bank.

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 Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Finovate Alums Dominate The FinTech50’s Inaugural Hall of Fame

Fintech50_homepage_April2016

FinTechCity unveiled its new FinTech50 Hall of Fame this week at the Money 20/20 event in Copenhagen, Denmark. Finovate alums took six out of the ten spots.

The “founding ten members” of TheFinTech50 Hall of Fame are companies that “have featured on our radar since the days when they could reasonably be called startups,” say FinTech50 founders Julie Lake and Nicky Cotter, writing in The FinTech50 2016 Yearbook. “In recognition of their pioneering spirit and competitive staying power, we felt they deserved their own special place within a list of remarkable game-changers,” the founders wrote.

FinTechCity also presented The FinTech50 2016, its roster of the fifty hottest FinTech businesses in Europe. Of the 50 companies selected by the panel of more than 30 industry experts who poured over more than 1,200 candidates, a full baker’s dozen were Finovate—or FinDEVr—alums.

Read the full list.

Lake and Cotter called this year’s competition “the most hotly contested FinTech50 in its four-year history.” The founders also highlighted differences from the 2015 list, with this year’s roster featuring more companies innovating in “security, compliance, and risk.”

Also noteworthy was the number of European fintech companies from the United Kingdom (more than 30 out of the 50). The founders credited this to the U.K.’s broader access to funding, as well as the region’s local talent, and “favorable regulatory environment.” Lake and Cotter also praised other emerging European fintech communities in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Stockholm.

In addition to The FinTech50 2016 and its new Hall of Fame, FinTechCity also announced its FinTech20 India and FinTech20 Hong Kong. Finovate alums were represented here with Demystdata (FinovateAsia 2012) earning a spot in the Hong Kong 20, and Bank Bazaar (FinovateAsia 2012) getting recognition in the India 20. Lastly, The FinTech50 shared “The Hot Ten,” a roster of companies on their watch list for 2016. Here, Finovate alum, Ormsby Street (FinovateFall 2015), was recognized on that list.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “CBANC Launches New Features to Further Engage Network of Professionals”

On FinDEVr.com

Around the web

  • MX inks multi-year data-aggregation deal with USAA.
  • Feedzai opens new offices in the U.K.; hires new head of international operations.
  • Payoneer buys Armor Payments.
  • Micronotes leverages AI and machine learning with new suite of cross-sell solutions for banks.
  • TransferWise teams up with Pay Gate to bring its money-transfer service to South Korea.
  • Insuritas to deploy turnkey insurance agency at Sun Community FCU ($358 million in assets).
  • Genworth Mortgage Insurance to use technology from Roostify to streamline home-buying process.
  • Former Check CEO Guy Goldstein’s Next Insurance announces $13 million seed-round led by Zeev Ventures, TLV Partners, and Ribbit Capital.
  • Patch of Land rolls out mid-term loans of two to five years.
  • In the U.K., PayPal Here SDK reveals first eight business partners.
  • CustomerXPs featured on Nasscom’s Indian Analytics Products Landscape.

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 Partners with Germany’s Number26 Bank Account

TransferWise Partners with Germany’s Number26 Bank Account

TransferWise_homepage_Feb2016

In its second partnership of 2016, TransferWise has teamed up with Berlin-based Number26, a mobile-first bank. Through the collaboration, TransferWise will power an international money-transfer option to Number26 account holders.

The functionality is already in place with updated Number26 apps available for both iOS and Android.

“We’re very excited that Number26 customers can now access the TransferWise experience without leaving their banking app,” TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus said. “This is a great step toward consumers having a wider choice of financial service providers and getting the best service for them.”

Number26_homepage_Feb2016

For now, Number26 customers will be able to transfer euros into eight different currencies including the U.S. dollar, British pounds, Swiss francs, Indian rupees, Australian dollars, Polish zloty, Swedish krona, and Hungarian forints; additional currencies are on the way.

Quoted in VentureBeat, Number26 co-founder and CEO Valentin Stalf sees this partnership with “one of the world’s best fintechs” as part of his strategy of “creating a fintech hub inside the Number26 app.” Number26 is a “full-fledged” bank account with Wirecard Bank, and features “all benefits and securities of a German bank account.” The account can be set up in just eight minutes, and comes with a free Number26 MasterCard debit card accepted at 450,000 locations in Germany and 36 million locations around the world. The Number26 app provides balance and transaction information, as well as real-time notification of account activity.

Number26 also features Cash26, a technology that allows customers to use their mobile devices to withdraw or deposit cash at any one of the company’s 6,000 partners.

The Number26 news comes a few weeks after TransferWise announced its first bank partnership, teaming up with the largest domestic bank in Estonia, LHV. The partnership also marked the launch of TransferWise’s FinTech API, which the company says will enable it to work with  “additional modern banks, messaging applications, marketplaces, and mobile carriers.”

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in London, TransferWise demoed its platform at FinovateEurope 2013.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com:

  • BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor Collaborating with RBC Wealth Management.

Around the web:

  • LHV, Estonia’s largest domestic bank, integrates with the TransferWise API.
  • Quorum Federal Credit Union implements automated workflow solution from Jack Henry & Associates’ Symitar division.
  • FIS launches ATM TestBench, providing banks with automated testing for their physical ATMs.
  • Online trading platform Investfly integrates with the Tradier brokerage API.
  • Malauzai surpasses 1 million SmartApp downloads.
  • Product Review publishes positive assessment of Cortera Pulse.
  • Kasasa launches in-branch-sales Tool Builder with optional identity protection.

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.