LendIt Fintech Names PitchIt Competition Winners And Second Annual LendIt Industry Award Winners

NEW YORK, April 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LendIt Fintech, the world's leading event in financial services innovation, today announced the winners for its sixth annual PitchIt competition and 21 winners for its second annual LendIt Industry Awards.

Sponsored by Mastercard, a global payments technology company and in partnership with 500 Fintech, a 500 Startups fund and SeedInvest, a leading equity crowdfunding platform, PitchIt is a leading global competition for fintech startups to attract funding, mentorship, endorsement and exposure to institutions, investors and broad visibility. Out of eight PitchIt finalists, the judge's winner was CreditStacks, a company that offers U.S. based premium credit cards to prime, new-to-credit customers. The audience winner was Narmi, a fintech company the helps credit unions and banks deliver a unified experience with modern and secure online banking, mobile banking and websites. LendIt Fintech received hundreds of applications this year in various segments of fintech, including AI, blockchain, data, visual identity and bank technology.

The second annual LendIt Industry Awards celebrated fintech market leaders, emerging innovators and top talent. The 21 winners were announced during the LendIt Industry Awards Show & Dinner on April 10 at One Market in San Francisco. The night brought together over 400 fintech influencers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Categories included, Fintech Innovator of the Year, Fintech Woman of the Year and Blockchain Innovator of the Year. The Industry Awards celebrate fintech market leaders, emerging innovators and top talent.

"Fintech is experiencing a boom in innovation and we are yet again impressed by all the award nominees who are a contributing factor in improving the quality of daily life for everyone," said Peter Renton, Co-founder and Co-chairman, LendIt Fintech. "As the fintech space continues to grow, these recognized thought leaders as well as many attendees at LendIt Fintech are at the epicenter of financial innovation."

Below are the second annual LendIt Industry Award winners, per category:

Fintech Innovator of the Year

Affirm

Executive of the Year

Anthony Hsieh, Founder & CEO, loanDepot

Fintech Woman of the Year

Kathryn Petralia, Co-founder & COO, Kabbage

Blockchain Innovator of the Year

ConsenSys

Most Innovative Token Economy

AxiomZen

Top Consumer Lending Platform

Yirendai

Top Small Business Lending Platform

Kabbage

Top Real Estate Lending Platform

LendInvest

Emerging Lending Platform

LendingUSA

Excellence in Financial Inclusion

Oportun

Most Promising Partnership

LendingClub + Opportunity Fund

Most Successful Cross-Border Partnership

Kasisto + DBS Bank

Most Innovative Bank

Cross River

International Innovator of the Year

IrisGuard

Top Enterprise Technology Company

ThreatMetrix

Top Emerging Technology Company

MoneyLion

Top Professional Services Company

Millennium Trust

Most Innovative Mobile Technology

Juvo

Top Fintech Equity Investor

Edison Partners

Best Journalist Coverage

Tony Zerucha, Managing Editor, Bankless Times

Top Investment Bank in Fintech

FT Partners

LendIt Fintech USA, a gathering of more than 5,000 industry professionals in San Francisco, showcases the leaders in innovation across financial services including the digital banking, fintech, blockchain and lending industries. For more information about LendIt Fintech, please visit www.lendit.com.

About LendIt Fintech
LendIt Fintech is a recognized global internet finance industry leader, founded in New York in 2013. Its aim is to gather industry elites to discuss and explore latest trends in the development of international financial technology. LendIt Fintech has become the largest event in financial services innovation as it hosts three annual conferences, LendIt Fintech USA, LendIt Fintech Europe, and Lang Di Fintech, and dozens of complementary online and in-person industry events. LendIt Fintech also owns and operates one of the world's leading industry educational channels, Lend Academy.

About 500 Startups
500 Startups is a global venture capital seed fund and startup accelerator based in Silicon Valley with over $270M in assets under management and more than 1500 investments globally. With over 150 Fintech investments in more than 20 countries, including CreditKarma, RealtyShares, Simple (acquired by BBVA), and Stripe, CB Insights recognized 500 Startups as the world's most active early-stage Fintech investor.

Announced in January 2016, 500 Fintech, our $50M Fintech/insurtech seed fund, accelerator, and corporate partner program scales up 500 Startups' commitment to fostering the digital transformation of the Financial Services industry and the growth of "Financial Services for the Rest of Us."

About SeedInvest 
SeedInvest is a leading equity crowdfunding platform that provides individual investors with access to pre-vetted startup investment opportunities.  SeedInvest has funded over 200 startups and boasts a rapidly growing network of over 180,000 investors.  SeedInvest has had over 15,000 startups apply to raise capital since inception and has only accepted 1% of those companies to feature on the platform.  For more information about SeedInvest, visit www.seedinvest.com.

Media Contact:
Tracy Rubin / Jill Fox
JCUTLER media group
[email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE LendIt Fintech