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12 Philly fintech players worth keeping an eye on

Though Philly's national profile might be more in the “eds and meds” space, here are a few notable players in the world of financial technology.

Fintech: the intersection of tech and moolah. (Image via Giphy)

Technical.ly's Editorial Calendar explores a different topic each month. The October 2016 topic is fintech. See fintech coverage from all five of our East Coast markets here.

If you thought Delaware ran the fintech game on the East Coast (south of NYC, that is), maybe you should read this first.

Philly, with its nationally respected cluster of universities and research hospitals, might be better known as a tech city that shines in the “eds and meds” arena, but there are also some fintech initiatives that can give the First State and other areas a run for their money.
From large publicly traded companies to early stage ventures, Philly has an array of organizations taking their own approach to fintech. And even though some aren’t millennial household names like PayPal or Venmo (which has decidedly Philly roots, fyi), there’s a world of potential in Philly (and specially in the Philly suburbs).
Here’s a list of organizations we think may play a key role in fintech in the years to come.

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eMoney Advisor

The Radnor, Pa.-based company is a provider of digital analytics tools for wealth management. It has been billed as a company built by financial advisors for advisors, and its solutions are reportedly used by 30,000 financial professionals across three countries. We’ve been covering eMoney’s moves for a while now, from its two acquisitions to the inauguration of that humongous office in Radnor last year, which boasts close to 300 employees.
Here’s a quick look at what one of its services actually does:

CardConnect

There’s a company in King of Prussia that recently rang the Nasdaq bell. That’s right: we’re talking about B2B payment processing company CardConnect, which is in use by some 60,000 businesses, according to its website. Over the past year we followed this company’s $350 million acquisition and its bid to go public.

Moven

The suburbs are looking strong so far in the list. This mobile banking company has a strong presence in Radnor, although it also has a New York office. Malvern-based CTO Robert Savino led the charge in growing out the company’s tech-heavy, Philly-area office. The Moven platform \ lets users track their spending.
Here’s the pitch video:

BizEquity

When Safeguard Scientifics founder Pete Musser invests in something, the least thing you can do is take a look. This Wayne, Pa.-based company offers other businesses online valuation, and boasts about having done so for 33 million businesses globally.

Chaikin Analytics

This Center-City based company makes research software for stock market investors and financial advisors. When we last checked in, Chaikin (founded by entrepreneur Marc Chaikin) had raised $5 million and was based out of Paoli with a staff of 15. However, in December of that year Chaikin found its way to the city, specifically to 2 Penn Center, where it currently supports a workforce of 27.

Perpay

Boosted by a $2 million raise, this company moved into a 5,600-square-foot office at 12th and Sansom, which it shares with Lamps.com, CEO Chris DiMarco’s previous venture. DiMarco calls it a “financial wellness” company and, as per its latest numbers, it’s helping some 76,000 people buy items and then pay for them over time through paycheck deductions. The company is currently at 15 employees.

AlphaPoint

Brooklyn isn’t running the blockchain game by itself. NYC-based AlphaPoint has a significant presence in Berwyn, Pa., and has raised some funding from Philly tech scene staples, like Ben Franklin Technology Partners and DuckDuckGo’s Gabriel Weinberg. The B2B company provides a series of blockchain-enabled solutions to issue, track and trade digital assets.

WorthFM

Though it hasn’t launched yet, DailyWorth’s Amanda Steinberg has been putting together a wealth management solution called WorthFM, based out of Chestnut Hill, which is geared at helping women track their personal assets, invest and save through an online platform. The system is currently operating in beta mode and you can join its waitlist for an invitation to try it out before it goes live.
https://twitter.com/worthfm/status/715593231719866368

WealthHub

This Conshohocken, Pa.- based company is part of Rittenhouse Ventures’ Fund II. It offers an automated solution to trust administration, used by trust officers — think wealth managers, law firms, financial companies — to manage assets of high net-worth individuals and families.

Safeguard Scientifics

Though not a fintech enterprise per se, the OG of OG investing companies in Philly (it was founded in 1953, for Pete’s sake) has been known to throw some cash into companies in the fintech space, like Connecticut-based Lumesis or NYC-based Transactis.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

The state-supported venture backers of companies like AlphaPoint are another door Philly fintech companies can knock on. But funding isn’t its only move: Together with D.C.-based Village Capital, BFTP announced a program last March to fund Philly-based fintech companies.  Look out for more news on that early next year.

Wharton FinTech

Lastly, though it’s not a company, this student-led initiative serves as a connector between local talent and large companies in the national fintech space. They share resources, education and connections among Penn students. They also host a pretty nifty podcast.

Companies: Perpay / Moven / eMoney Advisor / CardConnect / Ben Franklin Technology Partners / Chaikin Stock Research / DailyWorth / Safeguard Scientifics / Wharton School
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