Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Ripple’s New Partnership Lets Banks Test Blockchain and Ripple Integration”
  • Quantopian Adds Chief Investment, Compliance Officers Ahead of Opening Fund to Public”

On FinDEVr.com

  • UpGuard Brings Better Vulnerability Detection to ServiceNow”

Around the web

  • Kasasa partners with AudioEye to offer accessibility for community banks.
  • Zopa customers have borrowed $72 million+ this year for home improvement, a 54% increase in home improvement loans compared to the same period last year.
  • Ripple launches blockchain pilot program in partnership with Expertus.
  • Banking Technology reports that Temenos is nearing a core banking software deal with Iran’s Ayandeh Bank (Future Bank).
  • Fiserv earns a spot in Newsweek’s 2016 Green Ranking, which evaluates corporate environmental performance.
  • Google’s Economic Impact report profiles Onovative.
  • HousingWire reports: Mason-McDuffie Mortgage announces partnership with tech company Blend.
  • B2B Nation HR interviews PayActiv CEO Safwan Shah.
  • Infoworld feature on AI shares insights from OutsideIQ CEO Dan Adamson.
  • DigSouth highlights DoubleNet Pay and WealthForge in its look at fintech startups from the American South.

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

  • “Social Trading Company ayondo Appoints New CFO Prior to Reverse Takeover IPO”
  • “Ignite Sales Taps Ex-Fiserv SVP as New CEO”
  • “VoicePIN Launches New SaaS Model for SMEs”
  • “Realty Mogul Reaches $200 Million in Funded Real Estate Transactions”

Around the web

  • Markit adds Federal Republic of Germany to derivatives trade-management service.
  • FIS introduces Banking by Appointment with TimeTrade.
  • Zopa partners with UNSHACKLED.com to offer cell phone financing.
  • RegTech event sponsored by BBVA features presentation by Ayasdi.
  • Infosys wins five-year contract with Commerzbank.
  • Temenos welcomes new core banking client, BMO Asia Pacific.
  • Fiserv adds ten years to its loan processing, private-label credit partnership with John Deere Financial.
  • Buzz Points and Xtend partner to provide new loyalty rewards program to credit unions.
  • Bloomberg features TradeSafe, a distributed ledger from Standard Chartered and DBS Group that uses Ripple.
  • eSignLive unveils new UX featuring responsive design.
  • TechCrunch column on APIs features Signifyd, Plaid, and Twilio.
  • The Law of Startups interviews B.J. Lackland, Lighter Capital CEO.
  • WorkFusion earns recognition from Gartner in its “Cool Vendors in Smart Machines” 2016 report.
  •  Guardian Analytics introduces a certification program to help fraud examiners become familiar with the Guardian Analytics platform.
  • Crowdfund Insider interviews Emmanuel Marot, LendingRobot CEO.
  • Comarch launches prototype of wealth management app for virtual reality.

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.

Zopa to Offer Auto Loan Refinancing

Zopa to Offer Auto Loan Refinancing

ZopaHomepage

U.K.-based P2P lender Zopa has expanded its loan offerings to tap into the used-car financing market worth an estimated £12 billion in annual loan originations in the United Kingdom. The company’s new auto loan refinancing product, Zopa CarReFi, enables U.K. consumers to pay off expensive car-financing deals with a loan that’s a better value and has a more flexible agreement.

ZopaCar

The direct-to-consumer offering maintains transparency by offering a free, instant, personalized savings quote. The platform, which was built in-house, uses Zopa’s API to tap into the company’s credit-risk algorithms and combines the data with vehicle information to help users decide if it’s worth refinancing. Similar to traditional auto lending, the ownership of the vehicle remains with Zopa’s lenders until the consumer makes the final payment.

Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana talked about the motive behind the launch: “Buying a car is by far the most common reason for a customer to take a personal loan from Zopa, so we are proud to now also offer a product that can help customers that already have a car on a finance agreement. With an outstanding team and a deep understanding of technology, it is possible to combine longstanding history and credit excellence with lean, design-led innovation.”

The move comes at a time when P2P lenders in the U.S. are facing a lot of heat. Check out Jim Bruene’s take on the recent news in his piece, Lending Club’s Stock Price is Not a Leading Indicator for Fintech.

Since its launch in 2005, Zopa has matched borrowers with £1.5 billion in P2P-funded loans. The company, which demoed at FinovateSpring 2008, was recently voted MoneySuperMarket’s Best Personal Loans Provider of 2016.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Tink Pulls in $10 Million to Launch Virtual Bank”
  • “TSYS to Leverage Featurespace’s Machine Learning Fraud Capabilities”
  • “Narrative Science Teams Up with Vermilion, Bringing Advanced NLG to Portfolio Commentary”
  • “New Investment for Personal Capital Takes Valuation to $500 Million”
  • “Zopa to Offer Auto Loan Refinancing”

Around the web

  • TIBCO introduces integration-software solution, Project Flogo and translytical database for big data, TIBCO Graph Database.
  • InFakt accounting system integrates with Valuto open API.
  • Micronotes launches downloadable trial version of Micronotes Cross-Sell Basic.
  • eToro appoints Robert Brown as new non-executive director in the U.K.
  • Socure expands coverage for global watchlist filtering and sanctions compliance.
  • Philippine-based credit union groups to build payments and banking platform based on technology from Temenos.
  • Robotic automation technology from NICE Systems helps prevent credit card fraud at Italian bank, Banca Popolare di Sondrio.
  • Finovate newcomer Student Loan Genius adds Honest Dollar co-founder Henry Yoshida as vice president of partnerships and product strategy.

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, FinDEVr Alums Among Winners of 2016 Fintech Innovation Awards

Finovate, FinDEVr Alums Among Winners of 2016 Fintech Innovation Awards

FinTechInnovationAwards_2016_homepage

Of the 15 first place prizes awarded this month in the 2016 Fintech Innovation Awards, five went to Finovate/FinDEVr alums.

“This award is recognition of the strength of our idea for peer-to-peer lending and the growth we have seen since then as the idea has moved mainstream,” Giles Andrews said. “Of course, credit should go much more to the team who helped build Zopa’s scale, particularly Jaidev who took the reins last year and led the company to record levels of growth.”

“FinTech continues to be at the forefront of innovation, and that requires equally innovative RegTech solutions for risk management, security, and fraud,” Zac Cohen, Trulioo general manager, said. “Our Compliance-as-a-Service technology addresses that need, enabling pioneering technologies to grow their businesses and protect their users on a global scale.”

“In a shifting U.K. market, our range of price-optimization products are helping banks to better understand their customers’ behaviors and sensitivities through advanced analytics and analysis,” Damian Young, managing director, EMEA at Nomis Solutions, said, “This brings banks significant competitive and market advantage that will help them grow smartly and responsibly in any economic environment.”

“It’s brilliant to be recognized by the industry for our work in creating an award-winning money-transfer service, but the best prize of all is our ever-growing number of happy customers,” Azimo founder and CEO Michael Kent said. “They’re all part of the Azimo story – sending money home to support loved ones for all kinds of reasons.”

Also earning recognition at the event was EquityZen. The company, which will make its Finovate debut next month at FinovateSpring 2016 in San Jose, won the Innovation in Wealth, Asset, and Investment Management category.

Hosted by Julia Streets, CEO and founder of Streets Consulting, the 2016 FinTech Innovation Awards winners were chosen by a group of leading fintech specialists chaired by Dan Cobley, managing partner at Blenheim Chalcot. Taking home top honors in the remaining 11 categories were:

  • Innovation of the Year: ClearScore
  • Fintech Marketing Campaign of the Year: “Cashless on the Catwalk” by The 10 Group and Visa Europe
  • Fintech Startup of the Year: ClearScore
  • Innovation in Corporate Banking Solutions: Idea Cloud by Idea Bank SA
  • Innovation in Insurance: Bought by Many platform by Bought By Many and Ping An Insurance.
  • Innovation in Lending: Marketinvoice
  • Innovation in Payments: Zwipe Payment by Zwipe
  • Innovation in Risk Management: Imagine Software
  • Innovation in Trading Systems: FX Connect from State Street Bank
  • Innovation in Treasury Management: Walletsizing by Vallstein

The FinTech Innovation Awards were held at The Brewery in London on April 13th. The event featured a keynote address from author and Duke University professor, Dan Ariely, as well as remarks from Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Matt Hancock. Finovate alum Strands was among the event’s sponsors.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Finovate Debuts: Envestnet “Advisor Now” Offers Robo-Tools for Wealth Management”
  • “SocietyOne’s March Madness: New CEO, New CFO, New Major Milestone”
  • “Guardian Analytics Launches Omnichannel Fraud Prevention”

Around the web

  • Beyond Bank wins Celent Model Bank Award for 2016, courtesy of its customer-engagement platform from Avoka.
  • Fastacash announces new CIO, Jorgen Nordin.
  • Xceed Financial merges with Reach FCU; combined entity to deploy DNA core-processing system from Fiserv.
  • Zopa executive chairman and co-founder, Giles Andrews, was named Fintech Leader of the Year.

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.

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 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

  • “Ledger Launches Blockchain Open Ledger Operating System”
  • “Finovate Debuts: VoicePIN Offers an Easy Biometric Login Solution”
  • “Finovate Debuts: SuiteBox Introduces its Virtual Meeting Rooms for Financial Professionals”

On FinDEVr.com

  • Avalara teams up with WooCommerce to help online merchants manage sales taxes.

Around the web

  • OnDeck partners with Innovate Finance to debut Transatlantic Policy Working Group.
  • LandlordReferencing.co.uk to use Netverify from Jumio to comply with the U.K.’s new Right to Rent law.
  • The United Bank of Egypt upgrades to latest Misys core banking solutions as part of major modernization of retail, SME, and corporate businesses.
  • Top Image Systems launches next generation, automated accounts payable solution, eFLOW AP.
  • Zopa’s new lender products are live.
  • Golden West CU processes 15 new applications for insurance products in first 30 days of deploying Larky.
  • Coinbase introduces stop orders on Coinbase exchange.

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.

BizEquity, Malauzai Take Top Honors at Bank Director’s FinXTech Awards

BizEquity, Malauzai Take Top Honors at Bank Director’s FinXTech Awards

FinXTech_homepage_Mar2016

In fintech, to innovate is human. But to implement is divine.

That’s the takeaway from the FinXTech Awards, which recognized five fintech innovators not just for the technology they’ve created, but for the partnerships with banks to put their technology in the hands of customers.

Two of the five award winners at this year’s event are Finovate alums. BizEquity earned recognition for its work with Metro Bank, and Malauzai Software won its award through its work with Somerset Trust Company.

BizEquity“Part of our mission from the start has been to collaborate with financial services partners to strengthen their offering and facilitate their expansion,” BizEquity CEO Michael Carter said. “Increasingly we are seeing partnerships between banks and fintech companies as both realize the mutual benefit of such collaborations, we are excited to be at the forefront of this development.”

Malauzai logoMalauzai CPO Robb Gaynor similarly praised the benefits of bank/fintech partnerships: “We’re proud to work with innovative partners such as Somerset Trust, as these collaborative efforts between banks and fintech companies deliver numerous benefits to the overall industry.”

Additionally, three Finovate alums earned recognition as finalists.

  • Ignite Sales with Central Bancompany
  • StrategyCorps with First Financial Bank
  • Zopa with Metro Bank (U.K.)

The FinXTech Awards are sponsored by Bank Director, an information resource for directors and officers at FIs. The Awards were part of Bank Director’s annual FinTech Day held at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square on March 1.

Biz Equity demoed its BizEquity One U.K. solution at FinovateEurope 2015. Malauzai’s most recent Finovate appearance was at FinovateSpring 2015 where the company presented its Virtual Banking Experience technology.

Zopa Launches New Product Line Up: Classic, Access, and Plus

Zopa Launches New Product Line Up: Classic, Access, and Plus

Zopa_homepage_Feb2016

Exact rates will not be available until the first of March, but U.K.-based, P2P lending-innovator Zopa is previewing three new lending products: Zopa Classic, Zopa Access, and Zopa Plus. The new products replace a number of Zopa’s current lending solutions, and are geared toward lender preferences in favor of easier access and the “ability to take on more risk.”

“Over the past months we’ve been listening to our lenders about what they want from their lending products,” an email from Zopa read today. “Based on your feedback, we’ll soon offer more choice and be providing benefits from recent regulatory changes, particularly around the tax status of peer-to-peer interest,” the statement said.

The new Zopa products are:

  • Zopa Classic
    • Return rates from 4% to 5%
    • Features Safeguard
    • Access fee of 1%
  • Zopa Access
    • Return rates from 3% to 4%
    • Features Safeguard but with “fee-free easy access”
  • Zopa Plus
    • Return rates from 6% to 7%
    • No Safeguard

Most interesting of the new products is Zopa Plus, which the company says will allow institutions to lend to higher risk borrowers. Zopa Plus is the product of performance testing the company has conducted with borrowers in these categories.

Zopa Plus loans are also different from Classic and Access in that they do not include Safeguard, a borrower-funded contribution based on the borrower’s expected default rate. Zopa says this provides a benefit for borrowers who can avoid the higher upfront fee that comes with Safeguard protection, and for lenders willing to accept greater risk for potentially higher returns.

Last month, Zopa earned honors as the Personal Loan Provider of the Year at the Consumer Moneyfacts Awards 2016. Zopa CEO Giles Andrews was interviewed by the Financial Times in December, the same month Zopa announced its partnership with Equifax. And in November, the company was recognized as the “Growing Business of the Year” by Growing Business Awards.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Zopa made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2008.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Zopa launches three new loan products: Classic, Access, and Plus, expanding ability to lend to higher risk borrowers.
  • Envestnet | Yodlee teams up with South African API marketplace, Limitless.
  • “PayActiv raises $9 million in Series A”
  • “Modo Payments closes $2 Million in Funding”

Around the web

  • BioCatch announces real time detection of Remote Access and RAT-in-the-Mobile (RitM) malware.
  • PayPal unveils redesign of its Android and iOS mobile apps.
  • eToro partners with Sberbank to bring its social trading network to Russian investors.
  • News America Marketing and Linkable Networks announce partnership deal.
  • Nasscom Product Community blog features Bridgei2i.
  • InforcePRO adopts DTCC’s IR&S Solution to link with Carrier Partners.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.