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Newsletter, 20 – 26 September 2014

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

TraxPay closes $15 million Series B Round to transform B2B payments and financial transactions

Traxpay, the leader in B2B Dynamic Payments, today announced that it has closed $15 Million in series B funding. This oversubscribed round was led by main incubator, corporate incubator of Commerzbank and Software AG. Early investors, Earlybird Venture Capital and former senior APAX partner, Michael Phillips of Castik Capital Partners, also participated in the round. In addition to the capital raise, Traxpay also announced it is joining forces with MasterCard to enable a scalable, global solution connecting buyers and suppliers.

http://traxpay.com/news/traxpay-closes-15-million-series-b-round-to-transform-b2b-payments-and-financial-transactions/

[TraxPay participated in the 1st FinTech Forum event in Nov. 2013. Also read our 7 Questions with John Bruggeman, CEO of TraxPay from earlier this year.]

Chris Berger joins as Senior Advisor to FinTech Forum

Christian Berger is the Managing Director and Founding Member of BeeOne, the digital innovation lab of Erste group since 2012, and a pioneer in building the first digital banking lab of this kind in Central Europe. He brings deep know-how in digital retail banking and a network of relationships especially in Austria / D.A.CH and Central Europe which, as the fastest-growing region for fintech investments after the UK & Ireland, is the focus of FinTech Forum.

Here is our Q&A with Chris, who will be attending the 3rd FinTech Forum event on 20th Nov. 2014, and will be on the roundtable panel „Amazon for shopping, Google for search: will Europe be buying financial Financial Services from American (Fin)Tech Giants in 2020?“. We look forward to working with Chris to put more fintech startups from Central Europe onto the world map!

7 Questions with tradegear co-founders Aleksander and Predrag

Aleksandar is Head of Technology and Products and Predrag is Head of Marketing and Operations with tradegear gmbh, Swiss fintech startup…In the last 5 years we have been working intensively with quantitative investing and trading strategies and would like to share this passion with a broader audience.

http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-aleksandar-cetkovic-predrag-micic-co-founders-tradegear/

Clausematch and Counterest win BBVA Open Talent 2014 in Europe

Clausematch and Counterest have won the BBVA Open Talent 2014 Europe contest for the New Banking and Digital Life categories. Both startups won a prize equal to 30,000 euros in the form of a contract with BBVA, which allows them to test their product or service.

http://www.centrodeinnovacionbbva.com/en/news/clausematch-and-counterest-win-bbva-open-talent-2014-europe

Reaktion auf 20 Mio. Euro DVAG-Incentive-Reise: Berliner Startup fairr verlost Tretbootfahrt auf dem Plötzensee

Das Berliner Startup fairr.de kämpft seit zwei Monaten mit einem neuen Riester-Anlagemodell um das Vertrauen und die Aufmerksamkeit von bisher unzufriedenen Riester-Sparern. Zur gleichen Zeit lädt die Deutsche Vermögensberatung DVAG zu einer opulenten Jubiläumsfeier, wie sie die Branche so noch nicht gesehen hat.

https://www.fairr.de/blog/dvag-feiert-die-super-sause-von-malta/

Digital banking: Lessons from the digital disrupters [including inputs from FinTech Forum]

The world’s biggest banks have been slow to embrace the digital era. What can financial services CEOs learn from new, tech-based companies that have successfully disrupted other industries? What needs to change?

http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3379698/Digital-banking-Lessons-from-the-digital-disrupters.html?single=true

Deutsche-Bank-Chef: Startup-Finanzierung nicht Sache der Banken

Die Finanzierung von Startup-Unternehmen ist nach den Worten von Deutsche-Bank-Co-Chef Jürgen Fitschen nicht Aufgabe der Banken. Gefragt sei stattdessen Risikokapital, sagte Fitschen am Dienstag beim Tag der Deutschen Industrie in Berlin. Die Banken könnten dabei zwar helfen, doch nicht mit dem Geld ihrer Kunden, das sie treuhänderisch verwalten würden.

http://www.onvista.de/news/deutsche-bank-chef-startup-finanzierung-nicht-sache-der-banken-1154899

Bundesregierung befreit Wagniskapital-Zuschuss von Steuern

Das Bundeskabinett hat gestern die Steuerfreiheit für den Invest-Zuschuss beschlossen. Den steuerpolitischen Schritt hatte die Regierung bereits im Juni angekündigt.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/invest-zuschuss-homejoy-groupestate-pepperbill-sirius-venture-partners

Kapital über Cashboard anlegen

Geldanlage: Die Gründer Robert und Stephan Henker sowie Marius Schulze starten das Finanz-Portal Cashboard. Damit wollen sie Privatpersonen ab sofort die Möglichkeit bieten, ihr Kapital auf unterschiedliche Weise anzulegen sowie beim Portfolio-Management, bei der Steueroptimierung und bei der Risikobegrenzung.

http://www.deutsche-startups.de/2014/09/25/spotcar-hochzeitscheck-kaufhaus-com-cashboard-pagido/

Individuelle Beratung – gute Lösungen

Finanzchef24 hilft Existenzgründern genau dabei – online wie offline. Start-ups nutzen einfach den umfangreichen Vergleichsrechner und stellen sich so ihren individuellen Versicherungsschutz online selbst zusammen.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/einzigartige-ideen-einzigartige-start-ups-einzigartiger-versicherungsschutz

Free Guide: How fintech is reshaping the finance sector and YOUR money too

How can you be ready for the changes fintech is bringing to finance? How is it changing the finance sector? What difference will it make to your business?In our insider’s guide, written by Kantox CEO Philippe Gelis and Finance Insights Manager Tim Woods, we answer these questions.

http://finance-insights.kantox.com/fintech-reshaping-finance

7 Questions with Aleksandar Cetkovic and Predrag Micic, co-founders of tradegear

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

1. Who are you?

Aleksandar is Head of Technology and Products and Predrag is Head of Marketing and Operations with tradegear gmbh, Swiss fintech startup. We bring combined 40 years of experience in software engineering, international business development and business analysis in financial industry. In last 5 years we have been working intensively with quantitative investing and trading strategies and would like to share this passion with broader audience.

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

We offer automated support for self-directed investors and traders as well as for financial advisors and investment research teams in financial institutions, based on quantitative methods. Our products are specially suited for mobile devices and designed with wearable devices in mind. Our service for forex trading, 1touchtrading.com, is available free of charge for unlimited period of time, as long as it is used with demo / practice broker account, that is for “paper trading”

We believe we offer an unique proposal to our users: we leave the central decision, whether to enter the trade, to them. We automate everything before (research, calculation of trade parameters) and after (trade execution) decision to execute the trade, which remains only theirs. This way our user always remains fully in control, as opposed to robo-advisors or social trading platforms where user have to blindly follow somebody else’s investment or trading decisions.

3. How did you get your startup idea and how did you finance your startup?

We were dissatisfied with what mainstream financial institutions offer as investment and trading advice. On the other hand there is enough scientific knowledge and technology available to be combined into much better service for investors and traders, and we decided to build it.

We are currently fully self-financed but in order to expand both marketing and product range we are open for investment, especially from people and companies with background in financial services.

 4. What were the biggest challenges in starting?

Explaining how are we different from existing automated financial advice – that with our products the user always remains in control. Also the scepticism of financial institutions and “not build here” mentality at potential institutional customers.

 5. What areas within FinTech do you personally find most interesting and why?

Whole transformation of financial services around concept that money and all related to it is just digital information is fascinating. Naturally our biggest interest is in how available knowledge can be help investors and traders get better returns with less effort with clever use of technology

 6. What opportunities do you see for FinTech startups in the DACH region, and how can we help to accelerate it?

Proximity to dynamic economies in Eastern Europe is important advantage. In particular case of Switzerland, we are on the tipping point where all the prestige Swiss financial sector has needs to be transformed from banking secrecy as basis to modern digital services.

 7. What tip would you like to give FinTech entrepreneurs?

Collaborate with other FinTech start-ups ! There are so many ways we can join forces, from simple experience exchange to cross-selling etc !

Newsletter, 13 – 19 September 2014

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

BBVA OpenTalent announces winners at Next Bank Europe

We had a great couple of days at Next Bank Europe in Barcelona, which included the finals of the BBVA Open Talent 2014 Europe. Lendstar and Cashboard from the FTFD community were among the ten “new banking” startups, with ClauseMatch and TransferGo declared winners.

Samarth Shekhar, Co-Founder of Fintech Forum, was on the panel “FinTech Startup Ecosystems in Europe” moderated by ex-WSJ Tech Editor Ben Rooney (Informilo), along with Nektarios Liolios (Startupbootcamp FinTech), Nicolas Debock (Xange Private Equity) and Jerome Baro (Barcelona Activa).

Check out our event report and blog next week!

Countdown to the InnoTRIBE Startup Challenge / Sibos 2014 (29th Sep. – 02nd Oct. in Boston)

We are now getting into an InnoTRIBE state of mind! Here is a build-up blog and a teaser article Where is the innovation in fintech? with the InnoTRIBE innovation bubble chart. Meet us at the InnoTRIBE Stand at Sibos! We are a judge and partner of the InnoTRIBE Startup Challenge 2014, and will be cheering for the two finalists from the FTFD community (Lendstar and Mambu) at the Grand Finale on 1st Oct.

Fast Growing P2P Platform Lendico Enters Dutch Market

Fast growing peer to peer lender Lendico has moved into a new market, this time targeting the Netherlands.  Lendico was founded in Germany at the end of 2013 but the young platform has quickly moved to expand into regions beyond the German market.

http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2014/09/49751-fast-growing-p2p-platform-lendico-enters-dutch-market/

Number26 – the real time banking account is about to launch soon

While many other FinTech options offer an overview of your accounts, your spendings or work on peer-2-peer payment solutions, Number26 has a different goal and rethinks debit bank accounts to offer an all-in-one solution.

http://venturevillage.eu/number26-the-real-time-banking-account-is-about-to-launch-soon

FinTech-Inkubator (Nova Founders): „Wir werden komplexere Modelle machen, als Rocket es kann“

2012 gründeten Ex-Rocket-Manager einen Inkubator in Asien. Nun steckt ein Milliardär 50 Millionen Dollar in Nova Founders, das sich auf FinTech spezialisieren will.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/nova-founders-50-millionen-pacific-century-group

http://www.techinasia.com/nova-founders-capital-receives-50m-hong-kongs-pacific-century-group-boost-fintech-asia/

investiere (Swiss crowdfunding platform) raises CHF 737000 for Scotland-based clinical trial startup

Scotland-based Clinpal recently raised CHF 2.4 million in a financing round led by former Novartis and Credit Suisse CIO Karl Landert. investiere facilitated investments to the tune of CHF 737’000 and helped Clinpal secure funding from smart money investors with ties to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry in Switzerland.

https://www.investiere.ch/post/2014/09/11/investiere-raises-chf-737%E2%80%99000-scotland-based-clinical-trial-startup

Companisto: Proposed German Law a Contradiction That Threatens Crowdfunding

Recently there have been rumblings from the German crowdfunding industry regarding proposed rules pertaining to investor protection that may impact the growing investment crowdfunding industry.  

http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2014/09/49411-companisto-proposed-german-law-contradiction-threatens-crowdfunding/

Dassault Systèmes names 3D FinTech Challenge finalists

Dassault Systèmes today announced the 6 finalists selected to participate in the 3D FinTech Challenge 2014, an immersive accelerator programme designed to empower and accelerate technology innovation within financial service…

http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=56743&topic=retail

London event challenges fintech-types to launch a startup in a weekend

Fintech developers, designers and entrepreneurs are being invited to gather in London next month for a 54-hour hackathon that could see them win help from industry heavyweights to develop their ideas.

http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26472

Apple Pay is as safe as your selfies, says PayPal ad

In a newspaper ad reacting to Apple’s new payment system, PayPal suggests it’s not secure. And, well, PayPal is.

http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-pay-is-as-safe-as-your-selfies-says-paypal/

Überall shoppen und online bezahlen: Cashcloud präsentiert virtuelle Prepaid MasterCard® zum Nulltarif

The mobile e-Wallet provider cashcloud offers to its users a virtual MasterCard for payment on the internet. This makes shopping in World Wide Web in millions of online shops possible.

https://www.cashcloud.com/images/documents/press_articles/Eng_2014_08_26_Virtual_MasterCard.pdf

Mobile Payments: PAY.ON to support Apple Pay

http://blog.payon.com/blog/mobile-payments-pay-on-to-support-apple-pay

RapidMiner Appoints Analytics Executive and Thought Leader Michele Chambers as President and Chief Operating Officer

Pioneering predictive analytics leader RapidMiner today announced that Michele Chambers has joined its executive team as president and chief operations officer (COO). Chambers brings more than 25 years of high-tech experience to her role at RapidMiner, and is a twice-published author in the subject of modern analytics.

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/rapidminer-appoints-analytics-executive-thought-leader-michele-chambers-as-president-1947595.htm

Newsletter, 06 September – 12 September 2014

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

Meet us at NextBank Europe (18th-19th Sep.) and at Innotribe / Sibos (29th Sep. – 02nd Oct.)

  • We are a judge of the BBVA Open Talent and will be on the panel discussion “Fintech startup ecosystems in Europe” on Day-2 of our partner event NextBankEurope this week (Barcelona, 18-19 Sep.) 
  • We are a judge and partner of the SWIFT Innotribe Startup Challenge, and will be at the Innotribe Stand at Sibos in Boston (29th Sep. – 02. Oct.)

7 Questions with Robert Henker, Founder & CEO of CASHBOARD

CASHBOARD is a personal online investing platform. We are the only platform which combines the whole world of traditional investments (funds, stocks etc.) AND modern online investments (P2P-Lending, Crowdinvesting, Bitcoins…) in one free account. We offer our clients the following USPs…

European Personal Finance App Tink Raises $4 Million Series A

Tink, a personal finance mobile app that is popular in Sweden, has closed a $4 million Series A round led by Sunstone Capital.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/12/tink/

BBVA to invest $1.2 billion to become South America’s leading digital bank

Spain’s BBVA is to invest $1.2 billion on technology projects in South America over the next two years as it looks to grow the number of customers using digital and mobile channels to access the bank.

Germany’s Most Active Tech Venture Capital Firms

Berlin-based Rocket Internet is headed for an IPO and Silicon Allee Tech companies raised more funding in Q1’14 than any previous quarter. In short, things are heating up in Germany’s tech scene.

https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/german-venture-capital-investors-active-2014/

Markus Jordan von easyfolio: Ich habe eine Vielzahl schlechter Finanzprodukte gesehen

easyfolio ist ein Anlagekonzept, das Privatanlegern eine Lösung für die langfristige Geldanlage im Internet an die Hand geben will. 

http://www.deutsche-startups.de/2014/09/09/ich-habe-eine-vielzahl-schlechter-finanzprodukte-gesehen/

The Paypers interview with PAY.ON CEO Markus Rinderer

PAY.ON CEO Markus Rinderer discussed alternative payment methods with The Paypers and the role they play in cross-border ecommerce.

http://blog.payon.com/blog/the-paypers-interview-alternative-payment-methods

PayPal, ClickandBuy, Sofortüberweisung: Online-Bezahldienste auf dem Prüfstand

Rund 45 Millionen Menschen kauften im vergangenen Jahr im Internet ein – so viel wie nie zuvor. Viele Shopper zücken an der virtuellen Kasse zwar noch Kreditkarten wie MasterCard und Visa, aber mehr als die Hälfte nutzen zum Bezahlen schon PayPal, Sofortüberweisung oder Click & Buy.

http://www.computerbild.de/artikel/cb-Tests-Sicherheit-Online-Bezahldienst-PayPal-ClickandBuy-Moneybookers-7913003.html

RatePAY mit neuem Onlineauftritt: Verbesserter Kundenservice steht im Mittelpunkt der neuen Webseite

Seit heute präsentiert sich RatePAY in neuem Gewand. Unter www.ratepay.com bietet der Experte für Ratenzahlung, Rechnungskauf und Lastschriftverfahren seinen Besuchern ein komplett überarbeitetes Design, neue Inhalte und mehr Funktionen.

https://www.ratepay.com/presse/pressemitteilungen/ratepay-mit-neuem-onlineauftritt

EXASOL Announces Free Community Edition In-memory Analytic Database

Tableau Conference 2014 — EXASOL AG, www.exasol.com, maker of the world’s fastest in-memory database for analytics, is pleased to announce the availability of the EXASolution Community Edition, a free to download version of the most powerful engine for analytics and data warehousing.

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/exasol-announces-free-community-edition-in-memory-analytic-database-274465821.html

7 Questions with Robert Henker, Founder & CEO of CASHBOARD

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

1. Who are you?

My name is Robert Henker and I am the founder and CEO at CASHBOARD.

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

  • CASHBOARD is a personal online investing platform. We are the only platform which combines the whole world of traditional investments (funds, stocks etc.) AND modern online investments (P2P-Lending, Crowdinvesting, Bitcoins…) in one free account. We offer our clients the following USPs:100% Investing: All products in one platform

  • 100% Automated: portfolio, risk and tax management

  • 100% Secure: Personal German bank account with state deposit insurance

  • 100% Free: We only earn money if you make profit

Since we integrate other platforms and products we welcome all other FinTech products and platforms as potential partners. Same applies for brokers and banks.

Of course clients may choose other platforms like Nutmeg (UK) but usualy they get only one product, typically ETFs. Besides I am convinced the strategic shift from traditional banking in FinTech just started and there is enough growth in the market for all of us FinTech startups to cooperate rather than compete.

3. How did you get your startup idea and how did you finance your startup?

We saw the shift from traditional to online investments but found two things unsatisfactory: From clients perspective you need an additional account for every investment. Furthermore, clients have no transparency on their overall portfolio and 75% are overweighed in sexy, but also risky online investments. With CASHBOARD we deliver the dashboard for all your investments and a scientific proven automated portfolio management, customers can easily use to optimize their return, risk and tax.

We did some very successful crowdfunding and have another successful trading platform www.refinedinvest.com up and running. After bringing CASHBOARD live last month we are now in talks with Angels and some VCs. In case you are interested just contact us.

4. What were the biggest challenges in starting?

Since we could build upon our proven technology from our trading portal refinedinvest.com we were able to start our beta very quickly within only six months. We are also already regulated and have renowned strategic partners. Above all we are a diversified team with own IT.

The probably biggest challenge is to grow the team with the business. We are looking for web designers and web developers – Berliner: you know what I mean…

5. What areas within FinTech do you personally find most interesting and why?

Wealthfront did a great job in the US. Seedmatch and Auxmoney developed a new market in Germany. Personally I am most excited about complete new products and real game changers like Yuebao in China.

6. What opportunities do you see for FinTech startups in the DACH region, and how can we help to accelerate it?

Opportunities are plenty and the market just started to take-off. Platforms and partnerships FinTech internally (e.g. accounts – payments – investing) but also in terms of cooperation with traditional partners such as government, banks and media are just evolving and will definitely boost the whole FinTech industry in the future.

7. What tip would you like to give FinTech entrepreneurs?

Talk, talk, talk – to clients, other FinTechs but also the “old world”. There is pretty much still to learn from banks and fund managers. Personal relationships are still key to build alliances and reliable partnerships, where others just see business or competition. Anybody reading this and we did not meet yet: please contact me.

Newsletter, 30 August – 05 September 2014

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

Lendstar, Mambu, Cashboard and milliPay take to the global FinTech Stage

German startups Lendstar (which presented at the 1st FinTech Forum D.A.CH event in Nov. 2013), Mambu (featured on our 7 Questions series) and Cashboard are among the FinTech trailblazers selected to present at the BBVA Open Talent / Next Bank Europe (18-19 Sep. in Barcelona) and the SWIFT Innotribe Startup Challenge (1st Oct. at Sibos in Boston), while Swiss startup milliPay is in the first cohort of Startupbootcamp FinTech.

FinTech Forum D.A.CH is a judge at the BBVA Open Talent and part of the panel discussion “Fintech startup ecosystems in Europe” on Day-2 of Next Bank Europe.

Want to join us in Barcelona? Register here!

Weissenhaus Claims European Crowdfunding Record on Companisto

Germany based investment crowdfunding platform Companisto has claimed Europe’s most successful crowdfunding offer ever…The offer to fund a unique German resort in Northern Germany has raised € 3,450,615 (about $4.531 million) from 819 investors since the funding campaign launched this past July.

http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2014/08/48224-weissenhaus-claims-european-crowdfunding-record-companisto/

Nach Lendico und Zencap launcht Rocket Spotcap

Rocket Internet setzt weiter auf FinTech und launcht Spotcap. Starten soll die Online-Kredit-Plattform zuerst in Spanien. Sie verspricht eine „schnelle und flexible Finanzierung für den Mittelstand“.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/rocket-internet-fintech-spotcap-launch-spanien

FastBill übernimmt Mitbewerber (Xeer) aus Wien

FastBill aus Essen übernimmt seinen Wettbewerber Xeer aus Wien. Mit der Übernahme will man die Präsenz in Österreich stärken. Xeer wird nicht fortgeführt.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/fastbill-xeer-exit

Fintech reshapes Wall Street

When they decided to raise funds from venture capitalists for their Manhattan financial technology startup Estimize, Leigh Drogen and Brian Smith headed to Silicon Valley. Mr. Drogen met with 15 VC firms in March 2012 but went home empty-handed.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140902/TECHNOLOGY/308319990/fintech-reshapes-wall-street

Fintech leads London investment boom

…According to data from corporate finance house Ascendent, 22 fintech startups walked away with just under £300 million of VC funds in the first six months of the year.

http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26422&topic=retail

Money20/20 founders to advise on $500 million healthcare and fintech fund

Money20/20 founders Anil Aggarwal and Jonathan Weiner have joined with Oak Investments on the launch of a $500 million healthcare information and fintech venture fund.

http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26413&topic=payments

Peer-to-peer vs Payday loans

Peer-to-peer lending group, Lendico, says that new financial lending platforms that follow the peer-to-peer model could provide a safer, more secure alternative to payday loans.

http://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/67148/peer-to-peer-vs-payday-loans/

Apple baut mit Kreditkartenfirmen Payment-System für iPhone 6

 

American Express, Visa und MasterCard haben mit Apple eine Partnerschaft für ein neues Bezahlsystem abgeschlossen. Das iPhone 6 soll damit zu einer mobilen Geldbörse im stationären Handel werden. Der Zahlungsprozess an der Kasse soll über NFC-Übertragung passieren.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/apple-alibaba-twitter-snapchat

giropay mit Neuigkeiten auf der dmexco

Frankfurt am Main, 03. September 2014. giropay präsentiert sich auf der diesjährigen dmexco am 10. und 11. September in Köln in Halle 7.1 am Stand E023 zusammen mit seinem exklusiven Vertriebspartner für den Direktvertrieb – der GiroSolution AG.

http://www.giropay.de/das-unternehmen/news/news-single-view/datum/2014/09/03/giropay-mit-neuigkeiten-auf-der-dmexco.html

Newsletter, 23 August – 29 August 2014

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

BBVA unveils European startup contest finalists

Spanish bank BBVA has named the 20 finalists for the European leg of its startup competition, whittling down the chosen few from more than 400 entrants.

http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26365&topic=security

Two of the ten ’new banking‘ finalists are from the D.A.CH. region: Cashboard.io (The whole investment world with tailored, diversified and automated portfolios in one free account) and Lendstar (Borrow, collect, prepay, split, send & spend money within one app!).

FinTech Forum DACH is a judge at the BBVA Open Talent competition and will participate in the panel discussion “Fintech startup ecosystems in Europe” on Day-2 of Next Bank Europe, 18-19 Sep. in Barcelona. Register here: http://www.nextbankeurope.com/buy-your-ticket/

7 Questions with Bartosz Burclaf, Founder & CEO at moneyvane.com

1. Who are you?

My name is Bartosz Burclaf and I am the founder and CEO at MoneyVane.com.

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

My team and I are working on the first financial robo-advisor based in Switzerland….

Ayondo Holding Receives Further Funding From Luminor Capital

The holding company ayando has invested in innovative companies and technologies in the financial technology space (FinTech) since 2008. In this high-growth area, the group aims to expand its share in the market and is paving the way for international expansion.

http://www.startupticker.ch/en/news/august-2014/ayondo-holding-receives-further-funding-from-luminor-capital#.VAGD5PmSxqU

Tamedia übernimmt 20.4 Prozent von MoneyPark

Der börsennotierte Züricher Medienkonzern Tamedia übernimmt 20,4 Prozent der Anteile am Schweizer Finanzdienstleister MoneyPark… MoneyPark ist eine Beratungs- und Vermittlungsplattform für Finanzprodukte und wurde Ende 2011 von Stefan Heitmann und Leo Grünstein gegründet.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/tamedia-moneypark-beteiligung

Germany’s Fidor bank will begin using Ripple for international wire transfers next week

Germany’s Fidor bank will finally begin completing international wire transfers via the Ripple virtual currency protocol next week, making it the first bank in the world to do so.

http://pando.com/2014/08/22/germans-fidor-bank-will-begin-using-ripple-for-international-wire-transfers-next-week/

Swiss Finance Startups: Die Zukunft des Schweizer Finanzplatzes?

… Folgende Firmen präsentierten sich und ihre Lösung am Swiss Finance Startup Anlass vom 26. August 2014: Contovista, Run my Accounts, DealMarket, wealthport, InvestGlass, tradegear und Klimpr.

http://www.moneycab.com/mcc/2014/08/27/swiss-finance-startups-die-zukunft-des-schweizer-finanzplatzes/

Are you a Fintech innovator? Apply to the FinTech Innovation Lab by 14th September

This 12-week mentorship programme brings together young FinTech companies with senior IT executives from 13 of the world’s leading banks.

http://www.fintechinnovationlablondon.co.uk/

Fast keine Gebühren: Neuer Online-Broker will heimischen Markt aufmischen

Am Mittwoch startet der nach eigenen Angaben weltweit günstigste Online-Broker in Österreich: Degiro möchte mit um durchschnittlich 80 Prozent reduzierten Gebühren den heimischen Markt erobern.

http://www.fondsprofessionell.at/news/news-products/nid/fast-keine-gebuehren-neuer-online-broker-will-heimischen-markt-aufmischen/gid/1016878/

FAIRR.DE-Wie sich ein kleines FinTech-Startup mit den großen Banken anlegen will

Über das Berliner Portal Fairr.de kann man sich online um seine Altersvorsorge kümmern. Das Fintech-Startup ist selbst jedoch keine Bank, das Geld für den Riester-Vertrag „Fairriester“ wird über die Vermögensverwaltung der Partnerbank Sutor Bank angelegt.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/fairriester-interview

Finanzexperte Illner: „Online Financing ist auf dem Vormarsch“

Achim Illner, der Gründer des Onlinepfandhauses iPfand.de, über Kreditalternativen im Netz, seine Lehren aus dem Neuen Markt und Kredite via Internet.

http://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/private-finanzen/Ex-Moorhuhnjagd-Produzent-Finanzexperte-Illner-34-Online-Financing-ist-auf-dem-Vormarsch-34-3820917

Bitbond’s Radoslav Albrecht: ‘Getting a Marketplace off the Ground is Always Hard’

We reported two weeks ago on Berlin-based startup Bitbond and how that company had just secured a round of funding worth 200 thousand euro. Earlier this week, we had a chance to speak with Radoslav Albrecht, Bitbond’s founder and CEO.

http://cointelegraph.com/news/112361/bitbonds-radoslav-albrecht-getting-a-marketplace-off-the-ground-is-always-hard

MoneyVane.com now a registered financial advisor.

Moneyvane is ayoung fintech start-up from Zurich, developing an innovative service for the asset management industry. It has an investment platform designed to significantly reduce operating costs so Moneyvane can offer much lower fees that other financial advisors.

http://www.startupticker.ch/en/news/august-2014/moneyvane-com-now-a-registered-financial-advisor?utm_source=newsletter103&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter103#.VACxpe5BvbU

Start-up-Inkubatoren entdecken den Bankenwandel für sich

Keiner weiß, wie die Finanzwelt in zehn Jahren aussehen wird. Einige träumen von der digitalen Disruption und der vollständigen Ablösung der klassischen Finanzwelt (Bill Gates: „Banking is necessary, banks are not“).

http://www.wsj.de/nachrichten/SB10001424052970203622804580117621943751064?mg=reno64-wsjde

RatePAY mit neuer SaaS-Lösung für Onlineshops

Modulares System hilft Händlern, den eigenen Payment-Mix zu optimieren.

https://www.ratepay.com/pressemitteilungen/ratepay-mit-neuer-saas-loesung-fuer-onlineshops

Crowdfinanziertes Start-up Sommelier Prive ist insolvent

Schon wieder eine Crowd-Pleite. Sommelier Privé ist am Ende. 715 Companisten investierten 2013 stolze 300.000 Euro in das Start-up. Sommelier Privé ging 2012 an den Start. Das Unternehmen wollte „die Bequemlichkeit des Online-Einkaufs mit der Beratung vom Spitzen-Sommelier“ verbinden.

http://www.deutsche-startups.de/2014/08/27/sommelier-prive-insolvent/

 

7 Questions with Bartosz Burclaf, Founder & CEO at moneyvane.com

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

1. Who are you?

My name is Bartosz Burclaf and I am the founder and CEO at MoneyVane.com.

 

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

My team and I are working on the first financial “robo-adviser” based in Switzerland. Our direct competitors across Europe are companies like Nutmeg (UK) or Vaamo (DE). Our indirect competitors are of course traditional financial advisors and – to some extent – banks.

 

3. How did you get your startup idea and how did you finance your startup?

We got the initial idea few years ago. We were struggling while investing and allocating our own savings. Unfortunately we were unable to pursue it back then. We’ve got back to the subject last November (still struggling with our savings) but this time we decided to build a team and to push for it.

Currently we are financing our start-up completely from our own resources.

 

4. What were the biggest challenges in starting?

The biggest challenge for us was (and still is) the regulatory law and processes which we need to fulfil in order to operate i.e. documentation requirements, wet signatures or even confirmations that we’ve met the customer in person.

The second one would be the complete lack of standardised technology (APIs) to integrate different bank accounts’ with our platform.

And the third challenge is the seriously outdated and long-term-investor-unfriendly brokerage fees with required minimums and penalties for not trading regularly. All of this is unnecessarily boosting up the overall investment costs and significantly lowering returns from the investment.

 

5. What areas within FinTech do you personally find most interesting and why?

I find the idea of banks and brokers/custodians as integrators very exciting. I would definitely love to build a discounted, API-based brokerage/custody service in Europe and allow smart, European developers to build their apps on top of this foundation.

It would most definitely spark so much innovation – I can’t even imagine. Look what happened when Apple opened their platform to the external developers. I am actually looking forward to how Fidor Bank will evolve with their developers programme.

 

6. What opportunities do you see for FinTech startups in the DACH region, and how can we help to accelerate it?

I think that we still need more flexible, more transparent day-to-day banking solutions (especially in Switzerland). Better personal finance management (less about data and more about information) and higher pressure on mobile technologies.

How to accelerate it? Well.. We need: more accessible banking/financial technology (open APIs), more FinTech startups and more pressure on authorities to keep lowering the regulatory bar and to waive some seriously medieval laws.

 

7. What tip would you like to give FinTech entrepreneurs?

Running a startup is a roller coaster (especially for startups operating in heavily regulated markets). The days are either super-good or extremely bad. When you feel that you have enough of the struggle, you want to drop everything and resign, this actually means that you are really getting close to the finish line – regroup and push forward with even more power.

7 Questions with Markus Jordan, CEO of EXtravest / easyfolio

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

1. Who are you?

As the CEO of EXtravest GmbH I founded our latest project easyfolio.de in April 2014. I have been working in the financial industry since 1991 – mostly within Private – and Online Banking. In 2007 I founded Isarvest GmbH, a company that runs a software solution for Private Banks working with derivatives. In 2009 we launched EXtravest GmbH, an Exchange Traded Funds information platform. In April 2014 we went online with our new offering easyfolio.de – a web-based investment solution.

2. Which services do you sell and who are your competitors?

easyfolio.de is the easiest way to invest in a broadly diversified portfolio. Our customers can choose from three different kinds of easyfolios: easyfolio 30, easyfolio 50 and easyfolio 70. The number represents the percentage of stocks share in the portfolio, the rest is invested in bonds. Each portfolio invests in fifteen ETFs and therefore in more than 5.000 securities (stocks and bonds). We’re taking care of the complete portfolio structure so the customer can just invest and enjoy the growth of his asset. To invest in our strategies there is no need to open a separate account at easyfolio. You can use your existing investment depot and just buy the easyfolio via the stock exchange. This is easy investing, without any borders. Since our launch in April customers have invested over 2 Mio. Euros in the easyfolios, a distinct confirmation of our concept. Next step will an own savings account for even less fees. We always have the focus on offering our investors more services and better pricings.

3. How did you get your start-up idea and how did you finance your start-up?

Since 2009 we publish an ETF information platform for about 18.000 users and 30.000 visitors each month. This community kept asking us about the best way to invest in ETFs. At the same time we watched platforms like wealthfront.com rising in the US-Market. We identified this setting as a great opportunity: for us to grow with our platform and for our ETF community to get an easy access to a long-term investment solutions based on ETF products. That was the starting point of easyfolio. It was clear that this project, more than anything else, needed to build trust to potential customers. Who would just go and invest his money in a brand-new platform? So we decided to search for suitable partners. In 2013 Frankfurt Business Media, a subsidiary of the well-known F.A.Z. newspapers, joined our company. And in April 2014 we launched easyfolio.de. Today we are talking with potential partners to invest in the next planned developments of easyfolio. So if somebody is interested in easyfolios business development – just contact me. 

4. What were the biggest challenges in starting?

I guess we´re not a common start up since we look back to the foundation of EXtravest, the company that runs easyfolio.de, in 2009. But anytime you start a new project you have the same challenges to face like in IT, Marketing, Legal, Personnel, Product Development, etc. Starting a new company means a lot of discipline and learning. And to find funding´s for a project is a long journey that absorbs a fairly amount of time.

5. What areas within FinTech do you personally find most 
 interesting and why?

I like the idea of delivering easy and fair investment products for private investors. Quite frankly, I have seen so many poor investment solutions during my banking career – it’s time to make a few things better.

6. What opportunities do you see for FinTech start-ups in the DACH region, and how can we help to accelerate it?

The DACH region is an area with numerous wealthy people, therefore a platform like easyfolio.de is supposed to grow quite fast. Challenging are the varying regulatory´s within the countries.

7. What tip would you like to give FinTech entrepreneurs?

First: make sure that your product solves a problem for your customers. Second: take care that your product can not be copied too easily from the banks.

Newsletter, 16 August – 22 August 2014

Veröffentlicht von admin@tochter

BBVA names Next Bank Europe startup finalists

Spanish bank BBVA has named the 20 finalists for the European leg of its financial services startup challenge, BBVA Open Talent, which will feed into the Next Bank Europe conference in Barcelona next month.

http://www.bankingtech.com/240641/bbva-names-next-bank-europe-startup-finalists/

FinTech Forum DACH is a judge at the BBVA Open Talent and will participate in the panel discussion “Fintech startup ecosystems in Europe” on Day-2 of Next Bank Europe, 18-19 Sep. in Barcelona.

Want to join the event? Register here: 

http://www.nextbankeurope.com/buy-your-ticket/

7 Questions with Markus Jordan, CEO of EXtravest / easyfolio

As the CEO of EXtravest GmbH I founded our latest project easyfolio.de in April 2014. I have been working in the financial industry since 1991 – mostly within Private – and Online Banking…

App-Anbieter Centralway greift nach Banklizenz

Konkurrenz für traditionelle Banken: Der Schweizer Investor Centralway, bekannt für seine App Numbrs, beantragt eine eigene Banklizenz. Während sich die traditionellen Banken mit den europaweiten Stresstests abmühen, rüstet die digitale Konkurrenz auf.

http://www.capital.de/dasmagazin/app-anbieter-centralway-greift-nach-banklizenz.html

Refined-Investment-Gründer starten neues Portal für Anleger 

Mit Cashboard ist am vergangenen Dienstag das zweite Finanz-Portal aus dem Hause Refined Investment an den Start gegangen. Auf der Plattform sollen Privatpersonen Kapital auf verschiedene Arten anlegen können.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/refined-investment-cashboard

Tamedia beteiligt sich an Finanzberatungsplattform MoneyPark

Die Schweizer Mediengruppe Tamedia beteiligt sich mit 20.4 Prozent an der Finanzberatungs- und Vermittlungsplattform MoneyPark.

http://startupticker.ch/en/news/august-2014/tamedia-beteiligt-sich-an-finanzberatungsplattform-moneypark#.U_nG_PmSxqU

Life.Sreda leads SumUp funding round

European mPOS contender SumUp has closed a „double digit million dollar“ series c financing round led by Russian fintech venture capital fund Life.Sreda.

http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26362

Wells Fargo Launches Accelerator To Promote Innovation In Financial Services

Wells Fargo on Wednesday announced the launch of its first accelerator program, which will provide funding and mentorship to young companies aiming to pioneer new financial services technology.

Beteiligungsgesellschaften drehen beim Digital Finance auf: Dieter von Holtzbrinck, Centralway und Rocket

Ich finde es weiterhin hoch spannend, den Strukturwandel im Banking auf der Mikroebene zu betrachten….Die vergangene Woche rückte aber andere Spieler in der Vordergrund, die sich sonst eher im Hintergrund aufhalten: Die Beteiligungsgesellschaften.

http://www.blicklog.com/2014/08/18/beteiligungsgesellschaften-drehen-beim-digital-finance-auf-dieter-von-holtzbrinck-centralway-und-rocket/

United Internet kauft 10,7 Prozent von Rocket Internet – für 435 Millionen Euro

United Internet erwirbt 10,7 Prozent von Rocket Internet, die Samwer-Brüder bringen all ihre Beteiligungen ein. Firmenwert: mehr als vier Milliarden Euro.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/united-internet-rocket-samwer

Vor Börsengang: Auch Holtzbrinck wird direkter Gesellschafter bei Rocket Internet

… Dazu bringt der Münchner VC seine Anteile an sieben Rocket-Ventures ein – und erhält im Gegenzug 2,5 Prozent der Anteile an der Berliner Startup-Schmiede.

http://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/holtzbrinck-ventures-rocket-internet

Startup tip: What not to say to investors

“What’s one word or phrase that you should never use when pitching an investor?”

http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/08/what-not-to-say-to-investors.html

M-Pesa mobile money brings African technology to Europe: ’sky’s the limit‘ says founder

African technology has migrated to Europe with the launch of the mobile money technology M-Pesa in Romania. M-Pesa, which means mobile money in Swahili, is credited with transforming the lives of millions of Africans who do not have access to conventional banking services.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201408183189.html

Banks Can’t Keep Up As FinTech Upstarts Innovate At A Breakneck Pace

The incumbents of the traditional financial services world—banks and VCs, for example—do some things well. Unfortunately, for them, a wave of upstarts is taking advantage of what many traditionalists don’t do well: move at the speed of today’s economy and today’s American small business.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancaldbeck/2014/08/21/banks-cant-keep-up-fintech-startups-innovating-at-a-breakneck-pace/

Wirecard AG Q2 Earnings Rise; Ups Full-year EBITDA View – Quick Facts 

Wirecard AG (WRCDF.PK) Wednesday reported a rise in its second-quarter profit to 23.7 million euros or 0.19 euros per share from 19.0 million euros or 0.17 euros per share last year.

http://www.rttnews.com/2369363/wirecard-ag-q2-earnings-rise-ups-full-year-ebitda-view-quick-facts.aspx

Payworks- ConCardis launches ConCardis Optipay

https://www.concardis-optipay.com/home/

PAYONE präsentiert E-Commerce-Händlern seine Payment-Lösungen aus einer Hand und Wachstumspläne auf der dmexco in Köln

PAYONE (www.payone.de) präsentiert auf der dmexco 2014 seine Payment-Expertise in der Zahlungsabwicklung für den Online-Versandhandel und für digitale Güter und gibt einen detaillierten Einblick in seine Lösungen für E-Commerce-Händler. Die dmexco, die am 10. und 11. September in Köln stattfindet, ist die größte Fachmesse für die digitale Industrie in Europa.

http://www.payone.de/unternehmen/presse-news/pressemitteilungen/payone-praesentiert-sich-auf-der-dmexco-in-koeln/

RapidMiner Cloud Offloads Predictive Analytics Processing With a Single Click

Pioneering predictive analytics leader RapidMiner today announced the beta release of RapidMiner Cloud, which allows businesses to deploy analytics in the cloud with the ease of a single button. RapidMiner Cloud easily integrates more than 300 leading cloud data sources including Amazon S3, Dropbox, Salesforce.com, Twitter, and many other cloud applications to power high value predictive insights and actions. RapidMiner World attendees will witness the first public demonstrations of RapidMiner Cloud this week during the user conference in Boston.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-rapidminer-cloud-offloads-predictive-analytics-processing-with-a-single-click-2014-08-19?mod=mw_share_twitter