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A Highlight of Hispanic-Founded Fintechs

A Highlight of Hispanic-Founded Fintechs
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Diversity in Fintech, Flywire, PayStand

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to recognize some of the contributions Hispanic entrepreneurs have made in the fintech industry. From the start, Hispanic professionals have played a pivotal role in shaping fintech by using their creativity and unique perspective to build and improve solutions that truly make a difference for both retail and commercial users.

Below is a selection of Hispanic-founded fintech companies that continue to make a transformative impact in the worlds of banking and fintech. Join us in celebrating diversity, inclusion, and the achievements from these individuals during this month of recognition and reflection. Please note that this is simply a conversation starter and is not an all-inclusive list of Hispanic-founded fintechs.

Securitize

Securitize enables digital securities, which are easier to own, simpler to manage, and faster to trade.
Founders: Carlos Domingo, Jamie H. Finn, Shay Finkelstein, and Tal Elyashiv

Payjoy

PayJoy is a consumer financing company that allows consumers to buy a smartphone on credit and pay it off in installments.
Founders: Doug Ricket, Gib Lopez, Mark Heynen, and Tom Ricket

Finix

Finix develops a payment processing platform for businesses.
Founders: Richie Serna and Sean Donovan

Petal

Petal offers three Visa credit card products for underserved consumers.
Founders: Andrew Endicott, David Ehrich, Jack Arenas, and Jason Rosen

Flywire

Flywire is a global payments enablement and software company that simplifies complex payments for its clients and their customers.
Founder: Iker Marcaide

Octane

Octane offers access to instant financing to fuel their customers lifestyles.
Founders: Andre Gregori, Jason Guss, Mark Davidson, Mark Garro, and Michael Fanfant

Origin

Origin is a financial planning platform that manages compensation, benefits, and personal finances for employees.
Founders: João de Paula and Matt Watson

Oportun

Oportun is a digital banking platform that puts its 1.9 million members’ financial goals within reach.
Founders: Gabriel Manjarrez and James Gutierrez

Brex

Brex is a global spend platform with corporate cards, expense management, reimbursements, and billpay.
Founders: Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi

Camino Financial

Camino Financial is an online finance company that offers business loans and wealth-building solutions to help small businesses grow.
Founders: Kenneth Salas and Sean Salas

Ontop

Ontop offers streamlined payroll, onboarding, and smooth payments for international teams.
Founders: Julian Torres and Santiago Aparicio

Papaya

Papaya develops technology designed to simplify bill payment for consumers.
Founders: Jason Meltzer and Patrick Kann

Snowball Wealth

Snowball Wealth offers a mobile app designed to help users tackle debt and build generational wealth.
Founders: Pamela Martinez, Pearl Chan, and Tanya Menendez

Paystand

Paystand is a cloud-based billing and payment platform for B2B companies.
Founders: Jeremy Almond and Scott Campbell

Listo

Listo offers insurance and loans via retail and mobile experiences.
Founders: Alan Chiu and Sam Ulloa

Ripio

Ripio is a bitcoin and digital payments company that provides electronic payment solutions for businesses in Latin America.
Founders: Luciana Gruszeczka, Mugur Marculescu, and Sebastian Serrano

InvestCloud

InvestCloud is a global company specializing in digital platforms that enable the development of financial solutions.
Founders: Colin Close, John Wise, Julian Bowden, Michael A. Smith, Vincent Sos, and Yaela Shamberg

Novel Capital

Novel Capital provides revenue-based financing to B2B companies.
Founders: Carlos Antequera and Keith Harrington

Flow

Flow offers an open architecture that connects investment managers with their limited partners and service providers.
Founders: Adrian Ortiz, Brendan Marshall

Milo

Milo is reimagining the way crypto and global consumers access credit and financial solutions.
Founder: Josip Rupena

Traive

Traive is a lending platform that connects lenders to farmers to provide financial products and services for the agricultural supply chain.
Founders: Aline Pezente and Fabricio Pezente

Finally

Finally helps small and medium-sized businesses automate their accounting and finances.
Founders: Edwin Mejia, Felix Rodriguez, and Glennys Rodriguez

Alvva

Alvva offers credit-building loans to pay for immigration expenses.
Founders: Jorge Gonzalez and Sergio Torres

Portabl

Portabl offers identity-powered user experiences via a single API. 
Founder: Nate Soffio

Onyx Private

Onyx offers a modern private bank for the new generation.
Founders: Douglas Lopes, Tiago Passinato, and Victor Santos

SMBX

SMBX is a funding portal and public marketplace for issuing and buying U.S. small business bonds.
Founders: Benjamin James Lozano, Bhavish Balhotra, Gabrielle Katsnelson, and Jackie Chan

Zoe Financial

Zoe Financial helps its clients find and hire their ideal financial advisor.
Founder: Andres Garcia Amaya

OKY

OKY is building technologies that help immigrants to improve their lives by connecting families and sending value home efficiently.
Founders: Alejandro Miron, Estuardo Figueroa, Santiago Rossi, and Victor Unda

Caplight

Caplight is a platform that enables institutional investors to buy and sell derivatives of private equity.
Founders: Javier Avalos, Justin Moore

Aeropay

Aeropay enables businesses to accept compliant, digital payments.
Founder: Daniel Muller

Flourish FI

Flourish FI is a financial wellness and engagement platform for financial institutions.
Founders: Jessica Eting, Pedro Moura

Capchase

Capchase provides financial solutions to startups by allowing access to funds as they grow.
Founders: Ignacio Moreno Pubul, Luis Basagoiti Marqués, Miguel Fernandez, and Przemek Gotfryd

Chargezoom

Chargezoom is a B2B integrated payments platform.
Founders: Matt Dubois and Miguel Avellan

Chipper

Chipper is a student loan app that helps users lower payments, qualify for forgiveness, and chip away debt faster.
Founder: Tony Aguilar

Ease

Ease is a corporate card and practice operations software for private practices.
Founders: Mario Amaro and Miles Montes

Photo by fauxels

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Flywire Links Up with Tencent Financial Technology

Flywire Links Up with Tencent Financial Technology
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Flywire
  • Flywire has partnered with Tencent’s fintech arm, Tencent Financial Technology.
  • The partnership will help Chinese students pay for education abroad via Tencent-owned Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay).
  • Students will be able to pay in their own currency, while the education facility will receive funds in their local currency.

Global payments platform Flywire is teaming up with Tencent’s fintech arm, Tencent Financial Technology to help Chinese students pay for education abroad.

This week, the two announced they plan to allow Chinese students and families making education payments abroad to pay using Tencent-owned Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay). Flywire anticipates the move will further streamline education-related payments.

“This partnership ensures that for Chinese students studying internationally at institutions that use Flywire, we essentially become their ‘pay’ button, by offering localized and seamless payment capabilities, which benefit students, families and institutions alike,” said Flywire Senior Vice President of Global Payments and Payer Services Mohit Kansal. “Flywire has long offered Weixin Pay as a payment method, but the direct connection with Tencent makes the payment experience more convenient and streamlined.”

The Weixin Pay app– which allows users to chat, browse, and make payments– is one of the most popular digital wallet apps in China. By offering its cross-border education payments within Weixin Pay, Flywire is meeting consumers where they already are. The company also removes the typical friction and complications that arise from the cross-border payments experience.

Using Weixin Pay, students can pay in their own currency, while their school will receive the funds in their local currency. Students will also have access to customer support in their own language.

“We are always looking for better ways to serve our users,” said Tencent General Manager of Tencent Financial Technology Asia Pacific Wenhui Yang said. “Flywire’s existing footprint in China, impressive client roster and proven technology made this a natural partnership for us. As more Chinese students are eager to study abroad again, we’re confident that Flywire will enable our users to improve their international payment experience, and make paying for education as easy as sending a chat.”

Photo by Hai Nguyen

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Flywire Begins Trading on NASDAQ

Flywire Begins Trading on NASDAQ
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Flywire, IPO

Global payments platform Flywire began trading on the Nasdaq today under the ticker FLYW.

The Boston, Massachusetts-based company is offering 10,440,000 shares of its stock at $24 per share and expects to raise about $300 million with a market capitalization of $3 billion. These figures are at the top range of what Flywire originally expected; last week the company announced it planned to offer 8.7 million shares priced between $22 and $24 a share.

The Flywire team gathered at the exchange in person this morning for the IPO. The reunion was especially notable since this was the first time in 15 months that team members have seen each other in person due to COVID lockdowns.

Flywire originally launched as peerTransfer in 2009, when it focused on streamlining international payments to save schools and international students money on tuition and fees. The company rebranded to Flywire in 2011 and expanded from education to facilitate international payments in healthcare, travel, and select B2B payments. Flywire now counts 2,250 customers.

Differentiating itself from competitors, Flywire focuses on high stakes, high value transactions. That’s because once transactions exceed $10,000, the funds are subject to a different set of regulations and must be exchanged using a purpose-built network– that’s where Flywire comes in.

“We’re just getting started,” Flywire CEO Mike Massaro told CNBC in an interview. “We see this business as a cornerstone of how money moves within the industries that we serve. If you look at the four industries we’re in now it’s $12 trillion of opportunity. There’s so much room to grow here. We’ve got clients in 30 countries already… I see us going into more industries. I see us going into more countries, and really just try and digitize more payments for our clients.”

In addition to its Boston headquarters, the company has offices in Chicago, London, Manchester, Valencia, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Cluj, and Sydney. Prior to going public, Flywire had raised $323 million.

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Flywire Enhances Payment Process for Students, Schools, and Recruiters

Flywire Enhances Payment Process for Students, Schools, and Recruiters
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Flywire

There may still be a few weeks of summer left, but high-growth vertical payments innovator Flywire is already in back-to-school mode. The company announced today that it has enhanced its digital payment platform to make it easier for educational institutions and student recruitment agents to manage student data and track payments.

“Education agents play a very important role in the relationship between schools and their international students,” Flywire EVP of Education Sharon Butler explained. “Their ability to represent educational institutions locally can make a big difference in how a school is viewed by prospective students.” Butler added that the new enhancements will “streamline the international student recruitment process” and improve the way that agents are able to engage with students and institutions.

A worldwide payment provider for students and educational institutions, Flywire helps schools offer their students a secure and convenient payment process that accelerates the flow of funds, makes reconciliation simpler, and keeps operating costs low. The enhancements to Flywire’s platform will make recruitment agents’ jobs easier by centralizing student data and providing transparency over the payments process. Educational institutions will benefit from this payment transparency and tracking, as well, and are able to use the technology to build custom payment plans to give students more flexibility.

Flywire also announced today that it has forged a strategic partnership with China’s international education industry association, BOSSA. A non-profit, government-supported organization, the Beijing Overseas Study Service Association will get expanded access to Flywire’s cross-border services for Chinese students studying abroad. The partnership leverages Flywire’s extensive experience working with education recruitment agents in China; BOSSA has 300 such member agents who are responsible for recruiting and advising more than 60% of all Chinese students studying overseas each year.

“Flywire offers state-of-the-art technology and services for cross-border payments,” BOSSA spokesperson Jon Santangelo said. “We are pleased to endorse them to Chinese education agencies, and China’s wider international education sector as a whole. The level of integrity they’ve achieved in the higher education field is a big differentiator to Chinese agencies.”

Founded in 2009 as peerTransfer, Flywire has raised more than $263 million in funding from investors including Goldman Sachs, Temasek Holdings, and Bain Capital Ventures. Mike Massaro is CEO.

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Flywire Closes $120 Million Investment, Acquires Healthcare Payments Platform

Flywire Closes $120 Million Investment, Acquires Healthcare Payments Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Flywire, Funding, Mergers & Acquisitions

It’s a big week for Flywire. The global payments platform made a dual announcement yesterday that it closed a round of funding and sealed the deal on an acquisition.

The $120 million in funding brings Flywire’s total raised to $260 million. Goldman Sachs led the Series E round. The Massachusetts-based company will use the funding to digitize payments across education, healthcare, and travel.

“We are thrilled to lead the Series E round for Flywire”, said Ashwin Gupta, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division. “They bring together a unique blend of a payments network, platform and vertical-specific solutions to completely digitize the payments experience for their clients across industries. We look forward to continuing to help accelerate Flywire’s growth.”

Along with the investment news, Flywire unveiled that it has acquired healthcare billing and payment solutions company Simplee for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition blends Flywire’s tech platform with Simplee’s solution that focuses on patients and providers. The combined companies power four of the top ten U.S. healthcare systems and together process $10 billion+ in payments per year.

“Flywire is uniquely built on a global payments network, which is the cornerstone of how we move billions of dollars across 200+ countries and 150 currencies, and an industry-leading payments platform” said Flywire CEO Mike Massaro. “This digital foundation enables us to develop vertical-specific applications that make payments more efficient and cost-effective for our global clients. The Simplee acquisition improves patient engagement and healthcare affordability and extends these capabilities to a broader customer base.”

Flywire, which originally launched has peerTransfer in 2009, has processed $12 billion+ in payments for 2,000 clients. The company has office locations at its headquarters in Boston, as well as Chicago, London, Manchester, Valencia, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Cluj, and Sydney. 

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Ephesoft, Five Degrees, Flywire, Kabbage, OurCrowd, Plinqit

On Finovate.com

  • GoDaddy Adds SME Financing Option with Kabbage Partnership.
  • Ephesoft Drives Digital Automation in Thailand via Language Recognition.

Around the web

  • Forbes features OurCrowd’s approach to startup investing.
  • Flywire appoints former Apple Pay executive Rob Orgel as President and Chief Operating Officer.
  • Kabbage forms distribution partnership with GoDaddy.
  • Creditinfo recognizes five°degrees as one of Iceland’s Strongest Companies for the 9th consecutive year.
  • The Milford Bank goes live with Plinqit’s savings app.

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.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Flywire, Jack Henry, Jumio, Lendio, NYMBUS, Tinkoff Bank, Tinkoff Credit Systems, WePay, Xero

On Finovate.com

  • Backbase and Payveris sign digital banking partnership.

Around the web

  • Xero and GoCardless partner to solve late payments in the U.S. and Canada.
  • The Charlotte Observer lists Jack Henry on Top Workplaces list for fifth consecutive year.
  • Lendio’s online bookkeeping software, Sunrise, partners with WePay.
  • Xero now integrates with BP Plus Fuel Card in Australia and the BP Fuelcard in New Zealand.
  • Flywire provides Bank of America clients enhanced access to cross-border payments and receipts.
  • Tinkoff begins trading on Moscow Exchange.
  • Jumio launches Jumio Go, a real-time, automated identity verification solution powered by AI.

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.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daon, eMoney Advisor, Fintonic, Flywire, Infosys, Ledger, MasterCard, PayPal, Revolut, Terafina, Tolerisk

On Finovate.com

  • Fintonic Becomes Latest Challenger Bank to Receive Banking License.
  • Risk Tolerance Specialist Tolerisk Integrates with SS&C’s Black Diamond.
  • PayPal Launches Business Loans in Canada.
  • DaonPartners with Union Systems to Boost Digital Onboarding and Authentication.

Around the web

  • eMoney Advisor launches mobile budgeting app called Project Avocado and unveils developer API store.
  • Flywire announces the general availability of a new offering for adventure travel.
  • Mastercard and Revolut partner to launch Revolut cards in the U.S. by the end of the year.
  • The Ledger Nano X receives CSPN certification issued by the National Agency for Information Systems Security.
  • Bank of Hawaii taps Terafina for new digital account opening platform.
  • Biz2Credit and Infosys announce partnership.

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.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Bill.com, CREALOGIX, CrediVia, Dwolla, Finastra, Fiserv, Flywire, InComm, MaxMyInterest, Quadient, Ripple

On Finovate.com

  • MaxMyInterest Unveils High Yield Account Max Checking.

Around the web

  • Finastra announces two new apps built via its FusionFabric.cloud open development platform.
  • Fiserv inks partnership with DUCA Financial Services Credit Union, a Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based institution with more than 70,000 members.
  • Ripple’s “acqui-hiring” of the engineering team from Icelandic crypto trading company Algrim helps pave the way for its entry to the country.
  • Flywire and JCB International partner to allow select cardholders to use their JCB card to pay tuition.
  • More than 60 lenders join the CrediVia marketplace to source commercial loans.
  • Bill.com now facilitates payments in more than 130 countries and 100+ currencies.
  • Dwolla partners with TransferMate Global Payments to allow customers and their end users the ability to make and receive international payments.
  • Quadient parent company Neopost changes its name to Quadient.
  • InComm partners with Mizuho Bank to expand J-Coin Pay in Japan.

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.

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Indian Fintechs Get Funded; Finastra, Avaloq Bring New Leadership to APAC

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Avaloq, Finastra, Finovate Global, Flywire, Nubank, SumUp

Join us in October as our annual Asia-Pacific fintech conference returns to Singapore! FinovateAsia is one of the best ways for fintech startups and innovative industry veterans from the region and around the world to showcase their latest technologies before an audience of C-level decision-makers, venture capitalists, all-star analysts, and more.

For information on how to participate in FinovateAsia as a demoing company, partner, or sponsor, send us an e-mail and we’ll tell you everything you need to know.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • A partnership between R3 and Dubai’s platform-as-a-service company Wethaq will help digitize Islamic capital markets.
  • Working capital solution provider Demica goes live with supply chain finance technology from Saudi British Bank.
  • National Bank of Bahrain unveils new bulk cash deposit machines with secured with a biometric scan.

Central and Southern Asia

  • BharatPe, a digital payments company based in New Delhi, raises $50 million in new funding.
  • Tech Mahindra teams up with Adjoint to launch blockchain-based enterprise financial management and insurance services.
  • Bangalore-based fintech CRED announces $120 million funding round.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Mexican online lender Credijusto announces $42 million investment from Goldman Sachs and Point72 Ventures.
  • Brazilian online personal loan platform REBEL raises $42.2 million via financial loan securitization.
  • Forbes interviews Nubank founder and CEO David Vélez.

Asia-Pacific

  • Finastra taps Wissam Khoury as new head of its Asia Pacific (APAC) team.
  • Flywire partners with Vietnam Prosperity Bank to simplify international tuition payments  for Vietnamese students.
  • Avaloq appoints Imad Abou Haidar as its new Head of Asia.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South Africa’s Nomanini inks $4 million deal with Standard Bank.
  • Brink News looks at the “game-changing” potential of fintech in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • SME financing solution provider Nvoicia takes top honors at Seedstars Ghana competition.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Tremend Software Consulting announces strategic partnership with Mastercard Romania.
  • CIO of AXA Poland Oliver Schemberg talks about the “people-led strategy” behind the success of its digital transformation.
  • SumUp opens new office in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Top image designed by Freepik

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: 3E Software, AI Foundry, ARM Insight, Bazaarvoice, BLUERUSH, Eigen Technologies, Flywire, Horizn, inSpirAVE, Instnt, NDGIT, Ohpen, Ripple

On Finovate.com

  • LeasePlan Bank Opts for Ohpen’s Core Banking Technology.
  • 3E Software’s Teslar Scoops Up $1.8 Million.

Around the web

  • PNC now using Ripple’s XRP for cross-border payments.
  • Mortgage Media interviews Steve Butler, founder and GM of AI Foundry.
  • Flywire partners with Vietnam Prosperity Bank to simplify international tuition payments  for Vietnamese students.
  • InSpirAVE is being issued its first patent for the technology underlying its savings social network system. The patent is part of the company’s portfolio of patents published internationally.

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.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: EdgeVerve Systems, Flywire, iSignthis, Ondot, Onfido, Ping Identity, Signifyd, Temenos

On Finovate.com

  • Trade Finance Specialist IIG Bank Goes Live with Temenos Infinity, Transact.
  • Signifyd Offers Ecommerce Protection for Trellis Customers.
  • Ondot’s Transaction Intelligence Deciphers Payment Data.

Around the web

  • Onfido to provide identity verification for blockchain identity and payment solution provider Civic.
  • Ping Identity successfully completes financial grade API (FAPI) conformance testing.
  • EdgeVerve Systems unveils AssistEdge RPA 18.0 to help organizations reach broader automation coverage of their processes.
  • iSignthis inks Australian Principal Member licensing agreement with Visa.
  • Business Insider highlights Flywire CEO’s unique way of attracting investment.

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.

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