SwipeStox Parent Company Announces IPO

SwipeStox Parent Company Announces IPO

Germany-based SwipeStox announced today that its parent company, The NAGA Group (NAGA), is planning an IPO on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, approved the listing, which is planned for July 10, 2017.

NAGA will offer up to one million new registered shares until June  29 2017 for private and institutional investors in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Spain. Shares are priced at $2.93 (€2.60). Discount shares of $2.79 (€2.47) are available on the SwipeStox app and NAGA website for subscribers who hold a Real Money Account at the broker Hanseatic Brokerhouse Global Marktes Ltd (HBGM).

The purpose of the IPO, as the company describes in the press release is “aimed at improving the company’s profile and developing its equity – including as a currency for further expansion.” Gross revenues of up to $2.93 million (€2.6 million) will be used to further software and business development and to bolster marketing to attract more users to the SwipeStox app.

Founded in 2015, NAGA has raised a total of $14.5 million. The company has six offices across three European countries and plans to open locations in Shanghai and New York to support potential partners in the American and Asian markets. SwipeStox, the social network for stock trading, stands out as one of NAGA’s most successful projects. SwipeStox launched in 2016. Nine months after going live the startup’s global user base had already traded more than $21 billion over the platform.

Benjamin Bilski, along with Managing Director & Co-Founder, Wladimir Huber, showed off the SwipeStox platform at FinovateSpring 2016. At FinovateEurope 2016 in London, SwipeStox took home a Best of Show award for the debut of its platform. Earlier this year, the company closed a $13 million funding round led by Chinese investment group FOSUN, which is committed to helping NAGA expand SwipeStox in the Asia Pacific region. In 2016, the company launched a web trading platform and took home honors at Wolves Summit 2016  where it won $100,000 for business development.

SwipeStox is just the beginning for NAGA. The company is working on a new project, Switex, which focuses on trading virtual objects in online gaming (in-game items). Additionally, NAGA plans to launch two new fintech companies in early 2018.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • SwipeStox Parent Company Announces IPO.

Around the web

  • Ghana-based Premium Bank selects NetGuardians’ anti-fraud solution – FraudGuardian.
  • CSI globalVCard partners with AmTrav Corporate Travel Management.
  • Paducah Bank’s insurance agency, powered by Insuritas, set a record: 58% of the customers that asked for an auto, home or business quote bought a policy.
  • Form3 partners with Icon Solutions to leverage Instant Payments Framework for SEPA Instant Payments.
  • Surety Bank taps NYMBUS SmartCore for a Digital-First approach.

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.

SwipeStox Lands $13 Million, Hints at Asia Expansion

SwipeStox Lands $13 Million, Hints at Asia Expansion

Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 1.59.34 PM

SwipeStox, the Tinder for stock trading startup announced this week that its parent company The NAGA Group has landed $13 million in financing. This boosts the company’s total funding to $15 million.

The backing comes from Chinese investment group FOSUN. Guo Guangchang, FOSUN Group’s founder and chairman, said he was compelled to invest in Germany-based NAGA Group because of the company’s “vision to disrupt the trading space” and its “experienced team and strong technology focus.”

Benjamin Bilski, Founder and CEO of SwipeStox added, “Together with FOSUN we will accelerate our product development for SwipeStox and expand into more areas in the trading ecosystem. We are aiming to become the largest social network for stock traders worldwide.” Hamburg, Germany-based SwipeStox also has offices in London and Sarajevo, Bosnia. The company’s app is open to users in the U.K., Spain, and Germany, and may soon expand to Asia. According to the press release, NAGA Group’s CEO Yasin Sebastian Qureshi mentioned the new relationship offers NAGA “a solid bridge into China mainland.”

SwipeStox launched in 2016 and nine months after going live the startup’s global user base had already traded more than $21 billion over the platform. Benjamin Bilski, along with Managing Director & Co-Founder, Wladimir Huber, showed off the SwipeStox platform at FinovateSpring 2016. At FinovateEurope 2016 in London, SwipeStox took home Best of Show honors for the debut of its platform. Also last year, the company won Wolves Summit 2016 and most recently launched a web trading platform to expand on its mobile services.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Wells Fargo and Finicity Sign Data Aggregation Partnership. Check out Finicity’s recent presentation from FinDEVr 2017 New York.
  • SwipeStox Lands $13 Million, Hints at Asia Expansion.

Around the web

  • Tradeshift teams up with CreditEase to provide low-cost, trade financing to Chinese SMEs.
  • FICO unveils FICO Origination Manager Essentials to accelerate loan decisioning.
  • Market EarlyBird selected to participate in HM Government’s first International Fintech Conference in London in April.
  • VASCO appoints Jeff Cole as Chief Information Officer.
  • Datanami interviews MapD CEO and Co-Founder Todd Mostak.
  • Finland-based OP Financial Group partners with Token to develop new fintech solutions.
  • Celent awards IndusInd Bank for its CustomerXPS-powered solution that has revolutionized fraud and AML management within the bank.
  • Connect JIRA with process mining software from myInvenio.

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.

All News is Good News from 2016 FinovateEurope Best of Show Winners

All News is Good News from 2016 FinovateEurope Best of Show Winners

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At FinovateEurope 2016, six companies took home Best of Show trophies after an audience vote favored their seven minute demos on the Finovate stage in London. FinovateEurope returns to London in less than two weeks, on February 7 and 8, where we’ll see 55 companies debut their newest technology and vie for a chance to win the audience’s vote for Best of Show. Tickets are still available. Register to save your spot today.

Today, we’re taking a look at the successes from the six Best of Show-winning companies from last year.


25107877391_5fb99d5838_kCapitali.se
Offers natural language trade automation for automatically managed investment portfolios
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Recognized by PYMNTS.com as representing fintech innovation in Israel
  • Cited as a top B2B wealth tech player
  • Listed by The Next Web as 1 of 6 fintech startups to help you make the most of your money

DriveWealth25201110835_5b8991a5e9_k
Enables real-time fractional share investing and trading in U.S. equities for mass retail investors
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Brought Roboadvisory to Latin America in new partnership with Alkanza
  • Added a new real-time margin feature
  • Expanded APIs for wealth managers
  • Brought robo advisory to China in new partnership with CreditEase
  • Inked new partnership with Stoxs

25174331736_4f20b80c80_kEyeVerify
Offers a scalable biometric authentication solution
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Acquired by Ant Financial
  • Partnered with Bioconnect to boost payment security
  • Selected by Wells Fargo for its biometric authentication technology

24905480290_e037cec5e7_kIDScan Biometrics
Offers a digital onboarding suite with facial recognition technology
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Acquired by GBG Group
  • Included in Mercator Advisory Group’s biometric authentication report

 


SwipeStox
Offers a mobile, social trading 25082834042_60b88fc576_kapp that enables users to copy single trades of other users
Demo video

What’s new:

  • Won Digital Top 50 Award
  • Won Wolves Summit 2016
  • Launched WebTrader to expand beyond mobile
  • Launched Live Trading on its app

The sixth Best of Show winner, Valuto, shut down in August of 2016. Its parent company Currency One cited “an unsatisfactory pace of development” as the reason for the closure.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

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

Around the web

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

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

Live Trading Launches on SwipeStox for iOS & Android

Live Trading Launches on SwipeStox for iOS & Android

SwipeStoxHomepage

After a six-month trial period, Germany-based startup SwipeStox has launched live trading for indices, commodities, forex and CFDs. London-based One Financial Markets (OFM) will pilot as the startup’s live trading partner.

SwipeStox, which is partnered with the seven largest brokerages in the United Kingdom, allows users to synchronize their existing accounts or open a new account directly within the app, which is available on iOS and Android. The Tinder-like user-interface allows users to swipe through live trades executed by professional traders. Users can either use the trading information to make their own decisions or simply copy the trade.

In a press release Benjamin Bilski, SwipeStox founder and CEO, noted the significance that SwipeStox isn’t a closed trading system. Rather, the company’s API enables any broker or bank to connect to the platform. Bilski says, “After one-and-a-half years, two million lines of code and with a team of thirty, we have reached our first milestone: live trading.”

SwipeStoxDemo

SwipeStox, a Best of Show award winner at FinovateEurope 2016, will announce further partnerships with banks and brokerages in the coming weeks. The company also hinted at pending features, such as an interactive news feed that lets users make real-time trades directly from news articles.

SwipeStox will demo its newest release at FinovateSpring in San Jose on May 10 & 11. Pick up your ticket today to save your seat.

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: SwipeStox

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: SwipeStox

SwipeStoxHomepage

FS2016-wdateA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals, May 10 & 11. Register now.

SwipeStox offers single-trade-based copying and signal creation with one swipe. SwipeStox is the simplest social trading app worldwide with in-built risk management. It is fun and exciting.

Features:

  • Account syncing and account opening in seconds
  • Facebook-like activity-feed allows you to follow every update about trading and traders
  • Personal news feed according to your individual requirements

Why it’s great
SwipeStox is the fastest-growing social trading community worldwide which allows the users to consume news and video SwipeStoxPresenter1content, to get firsthand experience in trading, and to trade the financial markets.

Presenters

Benjamin Bilski, CEO and Founder
Ben is a serial entrepreneur, having founded e-commerce and mobile startups. He holds an M.S. from the European Business School and was a former German Champion in swimming.
LinkedInSwipeStoxPresenter2

Wladimir Huber, Managing Director and Co-founder
Wladimir has worked several years as a professional trader in an international investment bank and founded an e-commerce startup. He holds an M.A. in finance form Leuphana University.
LinkedIn


Check out the rest of today’s Sneak Peeks:

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Live Trading Launches on SwipeStox for iOS & Android”
  • “Finovate Debuts: SBDA Group Turns Raw Banking Data into Targeted Marketing”

Around the web

  • D3 Banking subscribes to market intelligence solution, FI Navigator.
  • California-based Yolo FCU chooses Insuritas to open and run its turnkey insurance agency.
  • Oregon’s Rivermark Community CU to deploy online and mobile banking solutions from Digital Insight.
  • PayNearMe facilitates users to pay for their taxes in cash.
  • Lending Club partners with Funding Circle and Prosper to launch Marketplace Lending Association.

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.

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: SwipeStox

FinovateSpring Sneak Peek: SwipeStox

SwipeStox_homepage_Mar2016

FS2016-wdateA look at the companies demoing live to 1,500+ fintech professionals May 10 & 11. Register today.

SwipeStox is the first mobile social trading app that allows everyone to trade Forex, Indices, CFDs, and Equities simply by copying single trades. We connect traders around the globe in one network.

Features:

  • Open API allows integration with every broker and bank worldwide
  • Fast and easy account sync and creation
  • SwipeStox pages: giving every broker the possibility to acquire clients through SwipeStox

Why it’s great
SwipeStox is called the “Tinder for Trading” because you can swipe for trades. It is easy-to-use, addictive, and rewarding, SwipeStox is the fastest growing social trading platform worldwide.

Presenters

SwipeStox_BenjaminBilskiBenjamin Bilski, founder & CEO

Bilski is a serial entrepreneur and former professional swimmer. At the age of 21, he co-founded angelplatz.de. one of Germany’s leading e-commerce shops for fishing equipment.
LinkedIn

 

SwipeStox_WladimirHuberWladimir Huber, co-founder & managing director

Huber worked for several years as a professional trader in a German-based investment bank, founded an eCommerce startup and holds an M.A. in finance from Leuphana University.
LinkedIn

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • i-exceed Teams Up with Mindtree to Bring Mobile Tech to BFSI Sector.
  • FinovateEurope 2016: Tweets by the Thames.

Around the web

  • Popular Community Bank and Oriental Bank to deploy Cardless Cash, a mobile banking technology from FIS.
  • Mitek to combine its Mobile Verify solution with fraud prevention and risk management technology from IdentityMind Global.
  • Lending Club reports second quarterly profit since going public in December 2014.
  • BizEquity launches ‘Smarter Prospecting’ feature for its Advisor Office platform.
  • Wallaby’s Chrome 2.0 provides access to credit card advice in the browser.
  • Swipestox partners with German bank Hauck & Aufhäuser to offer its users foreign currency and securities trading.

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.

FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateEurope 2016 Best of Show Winners Announced

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With winter winds whipping up white caps on the typically mild-mannered Thames, another FinovateEurope is officially in the books.

We could not be more grateful to all those who demonstrated their latest fintech innovations live on stage in front of our record-setting audience here at Old Billingsgate Market Hall. After two days of demos, our attendees have weighed in on which technologies will earn the coveted title of Best of Show.

So with no further ado, let’s take a look at what our 1,500+ fintech fans feel are the innovations that are getting us that much closer to a world of better engagement, friction-free and secure payments and e-commerce, and broader financial opportunities for all.

Here are the Best of Show winners of FinovateEurope 2016 (in alphabetic order):


Capitalise-(capitali Capitali.se 
for its technology that uses natural language to enable trade automation, turning investment ideas into auto-managed investment portfolios.

 

drivewealth-logo DriveWealth for its cloud-based/API technologies that enable real-time, fractional share investing and trading in U.S. equities for mass retail investors around the world.

 

Eyeverify---Hi-Res EyeVerify for its biometric authentication, Eyeprint ID technology that turns an ordinary selfie into a key that protects your digital life.

 

IDscan---Hi-Res IDscan Biometrics for its market-leading, digital, onboarding suite with a powerful, state-of-the-art facial  recognition algorithm.

 

SwipeStox---Hi-Res SwipeStox for its mobile social trading app that allows anyone to trade forex, market indicies, and CFDs by copying single trades.

 

Valuto---Hi-Res Valuto for its multi-currency account powered by an open API that enables seamless integration with SaaS accounting, e-invoicing, B2B marketplace, and e-commerce platforms.

FinovateEurope 2016 was a blast, and we hope you enjoyed the conference as much as we enjoyed hosting it. As always, a thousand thanks to everyone who attended, sponsored, partnered with, and demonstrated their latest fintech innovations at FinovateEurope 2016. We’ll see you next year!


Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballot were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from FinovateEurope 2015 are here. Best of Show winners from FinovateSpring 2015 are here. Best of Show winners from FinovateFall 2015 are here.