Holvi and SumUp Join Forces to Serve SMEs and the Self-Employed

Holvi and SumUp Join Forces to Serve SMEs and the Self-Employed

Holvi_homepage_August2016

SumUp helps merchants accept card payments, and Holvi provides banking services to small businesses. The just-announced partnership between the two will give small businesses and the self-employed a more complete range of financial services without having to rely on traditional banks.

“The cooperation with SumUp is the next logical step for us, because the payment (market) is moving more and more toward the card payments in Germany,” said Leah Marie Zeppos, Holvi DACH country manager. The opportunity is especially large among the self-employed, which has grown by nearly 40% in the past decade to total more than 1.3 million Germans.

SumUp_Germany_homepage_August2016

“With the Holvi business account, our customers can concentrate on the essentials,” says Maximilian Stella, SumUp’s VP of business development. “Independence has never been so easy.” SumUp and Holvi see the partnership has helping encourage entrepreneurship in way that is more cost-effective and efficient for smaller companies and individual businesses.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in London, SumUp demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company acquired payleven this spring, creating a €1 billion-a-year payment-processing giant that provides services in 15 countries including Germany and Brazil. Daniel Klein is CEO.

Holvi provides small business customers with an online business banking account, a Business MasterCard, and digital accounting and bookkeeping. Referred to by Wired magazine as one of the “hottest startups in Finland,” the company was acquired by BBVA in March. Johan Lorenzen joined Holvi as CEO in 2013, the same year the Helsinki-based startup made its most recent Finovate appearance.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • Holvi and SumUp Join Forces to Serve SMEs and the Self-Employed
  • CUneXus Closes $5 million Series A

Around the web

  • Cybersecurity innovator DefenseStorm adds Libertyville Savings Bank and PrimeRevenue as clients.
  • Prasac, the largest microfinance institution in Cambodia, launches mobile banking services courtesy of TranzWare from Compass Plus.
  • Cachet Financial Services partners with the Central Bank of Kansas City to roll out a reloadable prepaid card program.
  • OutsideIQ Brings Due Diligence Platform DDIQ to New International Markets
  • TSYS EVP and CIO Patricia Watson writes about the importance of strong enterprise architecture in fintech for CIO Review.

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.

SumUp Announces Merger with Payleven

SumUp Announces Merger with Payleven

SumUp_homepage_April2016

The merger between mPOS innovators SumUp and payleven announced this week will create a new giant in the industry that processes more than €1 billion a year in 15 countries.

Founder and CEO of SumUp Daniel Klein called the deal a “game-changer for the mobile payments industry” and a major move toward his vision of building the “first ever global card acceptance brand.” payleven co-founder Konstantin Wolff referred to SumUP and payleven as “two complimentary teams sharing the same vision” and said the merger would produce a company that is “larger and more powerful than the sum of its parts.” The combined entity will operate as SumUp.

SumUp_stage_FEU2013c

Pictured (left to right): Stefan Jeschonnek, CMO and co-founder, and Florian Richter, country manager, U.K., demonstrated SumUp at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

SumUp’s proprietary end-to-end EMV technology, hardware terminal, and mobile apps enable merchants to accept both credit and debit card transactions with a smartphone or tablet. Certification with Europay, MasterCard, and Visa ensures a high level of payment security and has enabled the company to serve merchants in 15 countries such as Brazil, Sweden and, as of last October, the U.S. SumUp’s investors include American Express, BBVA Ventures, Groupon, Venture Incubator AG—all participants of the company’s most recent fundraising last August. Founded in August 2011 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, SumUp demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2013.

payleven’s Bluetooth-powered card readers help SMEs process credit and debit card payments. Founded in 2012, the Berlin-based company raised more than $25 million in funding, including a $10 million Series D round in February.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “BlueVine Receives Boost from Citigroup”
  • “Infosys Launches EdgeVerve Blockchain Framework”

Around the web

  • “Cartera Commerce-powered Splender Doubles Membership Since End of 2015 and Drives $15 Million in Sales”
  • Linqto to pilot LEVERAGE App Store with nine credit unions.
  • Fiserv integrates commercial lending capabilities of AFSVision into its core account processing platform.
  • BBVA announces having 15.5 million digital clients, including more than 9 million mobile clients.
  • U.K. e-commerce provider EKM to team up with Klarna.
  • ACI Worldwide to run the card processing operations for The Co-operative Group.
  • Insuritas chosen by First Atlantic FCU to install insurance agency solution.
  • Employee Benefits News recognizes Blooom CPO Randy AufDerHeide as a Top 50 Benefit Technology Innovator.
  • Xero for Payroll goes live in Pennsylvania, making the technology available in a total of 22 states.

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’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Finovate’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Euros_purple

Nineteen Finovate alums headquartered in Europe raised $350 million in 2015.

From the $16,000 in seed money raised by U.K. startup, StockViews, to the €82 million investment received by Germany’s Kreditech, we’ve counted every euro, pound, and dollar that investors poured into our European alums. And whether the funding represented an initial infusion of capital or was part of a multi-stage Series E round, it is clear that investors are very interested in the fintech innovations of Europe.

Take a look for yourself at the “European Portfolio” from 2015 below, featuring Finovate alums from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

GermanFlagGermany

 

Ireland_FlagIreland

 

Netherlands_FlagThe Netherlands

 

 

Switzerland_Flag

 

Switzerland

 

 

UK_FlagUnited Kingdom


There’s still time to join us in London for FinovateEurope! Our two-day conference returns to Old Billingsgate Market Hall, February 9 and 10. Get your tickets today and save your spot.

 

 

SumUp Brings its mPOS Technology to America

SumUp Brings its mPOS Technology to America

SumUp_homepage_Oct2015

SumUp, a leading European mPOS (mobile point of sale) innovator, is launching in the United States.

And if you ask SumUp CEO Daniel Klein, the company has arrived just in time.

“We are here to help U.S. merchants and partners, such as cash register vendors, to transition quickly and securely to EMV, by making payments as easy as possible for their customers,” Klein said. He pointed out that SumUp is the “platform of choice for EMV transactions in 14 countries” serving tens of thousands of merchants.

SumUp_stage_FEU2013b

SumUp CMO and co-founder Stefan Jeschonnek demonstrated his company’s platform at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

As part of its U.S. launch, SumUp will be unveiling a new EMV contactless card terminal, available for pre-order at $99. The new terminal is designed specifically for the U.S. market, enabling merchants to accept electronic and e-wallet, Apple Pay and Android Pay payments via NFC, as well as accept payments with EMV chip-cards. “The shift to EMV chip-cards puts more costly fraud liability on stores without chip terminals,” Klein added, “but only half of small businesses are even aware of EMV liability.”

SumUp provides end-to-end payment-processing solutions supported by its own proprietary EMV card terminals, and mobile apps. U.S. merchants using the technology will be able to accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express payments. SumUp will charge a transaction fee of 2.75%. The company plans to announce strategic partnerships with “major U.S. companies” soon.

One company already partnered with SumUp is Visa, whose SVP for Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, Bill Gajda, praised SumUp’s “impact on the conversion of cash to electronic commerce” around the world. Gajda added that encouraging EMV adoption was also important. “We are focused on encouraging and supporting the adoption of EMV chip technology in the U.S. as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that everyone can realize the powerful security benefits that EMV chips provide,” he said.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, SumUp demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. The company has more than $56 million in funding.

For more information about our upcoming FinovateEurope 2016 conference, visit our information page.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “SumUp Brings its mPOS Technology to America”

Around the web

  • iSignthis and TikForce enter agreement for identity services.
  • Banks and merchants connected through Alpha Payments Cloud’s AlphaHub now have access to the iSignthis suite of services.
  • Functional Geekery interviews Plaid engineer David Chambers.
  • Power supplier ENEL to deploy TIS’s automated accounts payable and accounts receivables processing-solution across Russia.
  • TechCrunch Cribs features Credit Karma’s office.
  • Telefonica to work with Monitise in its transition to a cloud-based business.
  • Nigel Morris of QED Investors to join Zopa board of directors.
  • Fiserv launches wealth-management partnership with InvestEdge.
  • Trulioo, was named Top Innovator at the Integrate 2015 conference.

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.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “Blooom Wins Grant from LaunchKC”
  • “FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 Presenters All Mapped Out

Around the web

  • SumUp launches mobile payments service in Sweden.
  • Stratos launches EMV Chip Connected Payment Cards in Q4 2015.
  • Ferguson Federal, $57 million in assets, hires Insuritas to launch insurance agency.
  • Kony helps ORNL FCU deliver customized mobile app experiences to its members.
  • OnDeck partners with Association for Enterprise Opportunity to facilitate up to $10 million in small-business loans.
  • Tradeshift unveils new e-procurement solution, Tradeshift Buy.
  • Aerospike releases version 3.6 of its NoSQL operational database. See Aerospike’s presentation at FinDEVr next week.
  • TechCrunch: Klarna adds American Express as a partner. Come watch American Express’ presentation at FinDEVr.

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.

SumUp Raises €10 Million in Round Led by BBVA Ventures, Groupon, American Express

SumUp Raises €10 Million in Round Led by BBVA Ventures, Groupon, American Express

SumUp_homepage_Aug2015

Investments totaling €10 million from BBVA Ventures, Groupon, American Express and others have boosted mPOS specialist SumUp’s total capital to more than €50 million.

The infusion comes on the heels of a June investment from Venture Incubator AG, a Swiss venture-capital firm. The combined investments, SumUp CEO Daniel Klein said, makes SumUp “better equipped than ever to execute our vision of empowering small businesses all over the world by radically simplifying payments.”

Specifically, SumUp plans to put the capital to use by:

  • Expanding into two more countries in 2015, growing the company’s footprint to 15 countries on three continents.
  • Introducing a new contactless version of its end-to-end payment platform as well as “supporting the development of new services.”

SumUp_stage_FEU2013

From left: Stefan Jeschonnek, CMO and co-founder; Florian Richter, U.K. country manager, demonstrated SumUp at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

Both development and new services have been on the agenda for SumUp in recent months. In May, SumUp released its Terminal Payment SDKs for iOS and Android and a suite of APIs that enabled third parties to connect to SumUp’s platform and terminals. According to the company, this made SumUp the “first truly open mPOS platform.” Also in May, SumUp expanded payment options for Swiss merchants by including payments from American Express.

SumUp’s technology enables merchants to accept credit and debit card payment via both smartphone and tablet. The solution relies on proprietary, end-to-end, EMV payment technology, a portable card reader, and an app available on both iOS and Android to enable small businesses to accept payments on-the-go. SumUp charges a flat 1.95% for both credit and debit transactions, and has no monthly fee.

SumUp demoed its cashless point-of-sale solution at FinovateEurope 2013 in London. The company was founded in August 2011 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Finovate Alumni News

On Finovate.com

  • “SumUp Raises €10 Million in Round Led by BBVA Ventures, Groupon, American Express”

Around the web

  • In its fiscal year 2015, Avoka signs record number of clients and experiences 70% year-on-year bookings growth.
  • Yodlee is accepting applicants for its upcoming Ynext Incubator class.
  • Markit acquires FX trade-processing specialist DealHug. See Markit at FinDEVr 2015 in San Francisco in October.
  • Emailage opens European data center.
  • After BlackRock’s acquisition of FutureAdvisor, ThinkAdvisor considers the fate of Wealthfront and Betterment.
  • Forbes looks at Mint, MaxMyInterest, Moven, and Venom in a discussion on the connection between mobile, messaging, and financial services.
  • Mainstream features a quote from founder of DoubleNet Pay, CEO Brian Cosgray, on the impact of debt on new retirees.

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

  • SumUp Unveils New Financing of Undisclosed Amount
  • FinDEVr 2015: First Round of Presenting Companies Revealed
  • Ixaris Launches Initial Phase of Open Payment Ecosystem (OPE) Project

Around the web

  • Prosper to charge fee for investors who bundle loans into bonds.
  • Spreedly now supports third-party tokens.
  • US Bank signs five-year renewal for Fiserv digital payment suite, including CheckFree RXP, Popmoney, and TransferNow solutions.
  • LendingTree announces new CFO, COO, CTO, and CRO.
  • PYMNTS.com interviews Jonathan Hancock, TSYS director of fraud-management solutions.
  • Lending Robot launches new, default ‘fully automated’ mode, that allows users to set a risk profile on a slider bar.
  • Lending Club partners with nonprofit Opportunity Fund to feed loans rejected by Lending Club.
  • Backbase set to launch its first hackathon, 19/20 June 2015.
  • EuroNews features Kabbage, Lending Club, and On Deck.
  • Actiance launches Actiance Trusted Communities to enable companies to communicate with counterparts while meeting regulations.
  • Blackhawk Network to acquire Achievers Corp.
  • Global Debt Registry makes Account Extinguishment Reports (AERs) available free to consumers using its Debt Lookup service.
  • Top Image Systems Achieves Certification with PaperStream IP Image Enhancement Solution.

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.

SumUp Unveils New Financing

SumUp Unveils New Financing

SumUpHomepage

U.K.-based payments startup SumUp announced a new round of funding today. While the amount remains undisclosed, SumUp CEO Daniel Klein confirmed that the company has now raised a total of $45 million in funding since it was founded in 2012.

According to TechCrunch, Klein estimates the company is now valued somewhere in the range of “healthy hundreds of million” euros.

The newest round comes from Venture Incubator AG, a firm that includes ABB, Bühler, Credit Suisse, Hilti, Nestlé, Novartis, Schindler, SUVA, Sulzer and ZKB. This list of heavy-hitters should come as no surprise, since SumUp’s earlier rounds were led by American Express, Groupon, BBVA and other renowned venture-capital firms.

SumUp’s mobile point-of-sale system includes Chip & PIN as well as EMV processing technology, available on Android and iOS mobile apps. The company will use the funding in two ways:

SumUpCardReader1) Focus on contactless payment hardware.
SumUp differentiates itself by being as vertically integrated as possible. That means that it designs all of its own hardware, and does not rely on third parties. The company sells its terminal for around $90, and considers the hardware to be one of its competitive advantages. Says CEO Klein, “We’ve reached a competitive point in this respect for us to be able to produce terminals at a cost that is lower when we sell it. We are already making a profit on our hardware and continue to do so.”

2) Expand its geographical reach.
SumUp currently operates in 13 countries, and will add two more this year, one of which will be Sweden.

SumUp reported 300,000 merchant customers as of last month. In the last six months, sales volume has doubled on the platform. The startup plans to be profitable by next year.

The company launched at FinovateEurope 2013 in London where it won Best of Show for its portable card reader and point-of-sale solution.