Blog
 |
|
|
|
Recently in
FutureAdvisor
Category
 - RIA Biz takes a look at BrightScope's plan to make advisory fees public.
- DietBet.com crowdfunds more than $300,000 via SeedInvest. Join SeedInvest in San Francisco for FinovateSpring in May.
- Finovate alumni make a strong showing in GoodApril co-founder's list of tax preparation innovation. Meet GoodApril at FinovateSpring.
- VentureBeat features Ripple developer OpenCoin. See OpenCoin in action at FinovateSpring in May.
- DroidBeans reviews Pageonce for Android.
- Puget Sound Business Journal highlights the role of Realty Mogul in a local real estate deal. Join Realty Mogul at FinovateSpring.
- PayPal buys Iron Pearl, a startup that helps companies make their products more attractive to customers.
- Reuters looks at a case study of how FutureAdvisor is used to save for retirement.
- PYMNTS looks at Kabbage's "secret weapon"
- New York Times Business Day interviews Sabrina Parsons, Palo Alto Software CEO. Come to FinovateSpring to watch it demo LivePlan.
- Channelnomics reports: Check Point Launch Makes Small Branch Foray.
- Dwolla takes top honors at Prometheus Awards in Des Moines.
- Massolution's Crowdfunding Industry Report places Lending Club and Prosper as leaders in the industry.
- American Banker considers On Deck Capital's growth.
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.
- Expensify makes Reconciliation and Central Administration features available for American Express corporate cardholders.
- Micronotes providing series of marketing campaigns for USAlliance FCU to help cross-selling efforts.
- Palo Alto Software announces launch of EntrepreWorld, a virtual environment to test business plans in a virtual world of avatars. Come see Palo Alto demo its latest technology at FinovateSpring.
- Consumers CU chooses Andera's oFlows platform for online account opening and lending.
- Lighter Capital appoints Molly Gregg Otter as Vice President.
- Bloomberg looks at how Jemstep, SigFig, and FutureAdvisor help manage your portfolio online. See Jemstep's new tech at FinovateSpring.
- Forbes takes a close up look at London's FinTech Innovation Lab, including participants BehavioSec, Kiboo, and Open Bank Project.
- Huff Post blog considers Lighter Capital's Revenue Loans as alternative to VC funding.
- GCN looks at Dwolla's use in government.
- Huff Post blog considers automated report-writing software company, Narrative Science. See its new tech at FinovateSpring.
- Y C Universe profiles Trust Egg. See them demo at FinovateSpring in May.
- MicroStrategy signs technology alliance agreement with MapR.
- Berry Review takes a look at Pageonce Money and Bills on Blackberry 10.
- Times of India highlights Klarna's growth in Europe.
- Incentive Mag previews the launch of CashStar's table gifting solution.
- Eye Verify announces results from biometric standard, performance and assurance lab survey. Join them in San Francisco for FinovateSpring.
- IntelliResponse selected by KMWorld as one of "100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management" for 2013. Come see them in action at FinovateSpring in May.
- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially 'opened the doors' to On Deck Capital's new NYC HQ.
- Global Payments and edo Interactive launch pilot for card-linked offers network.
- Boston Business Journal interviews Leaf CEO Aron Schwarzkopf. See Leaf's demo at FinovateSpring in San Francisco.
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.
 - Atlanta Business Chronicle takes a look inside the TSYS/NetSpend merger.
- TradeHero reaches $5 billion in virtual currency traded over 350,000 trades in the first three months.
- Washington Trust Bank to deploy Jack Henry & Associates' SilverLake System core processing platform.
- The Options Insider interviews TradeKing CEO Don Montanaro.
- Leading U.S. healthcare insurer invested more than $250k to implement a Kofax-based solution. See Kofax demo at FinovateSpring.
- Bill.com announces it enables more than 175k businesses to pay and get paid.
- Fargo bank adds Fiserv mobile banking, payment tools.
- Dwolla site back up after DDoS attack.
- BBC Easy launches C & I Loan Management Software for businesses looking to save time on cumbersome BBCs. Check out BBC's demo at FinovateSpring.
- Keynote DeviceAnywhere platform now integrated with Worksoft Certif.
- AH Capital raises more than $100,000 using Realty Mogul's real estate crowd funding platform. Join Realty Mogul in San Francisco this May at FinovateSpring.
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.
- appPicker reviews Pageonce - Money & Bills app.
- BrightScope announces top finance, insurance companies with the best 401(k) plans.
- Device Fidelity announces Incipio partnership, new line of NFC enabled cases for iPhone.
- NerdWallet interviews Bolstr co-founders, Larry Baker and Charlie Tribbett.
- The Monitise-powered mobile wallet from Blackberry, BBM Money, launches pilot in Indonesia.
- Cortera Pulse wins Gold Stevie Award for new version of business intelligence solution.
- Lighter Capital appoints Molly Greg as VP.
- SaveUp's CEO & Co-founder Priya Haji awarded a Social Innovation Leadership Award by the World CSR Congress.
- US News Money looks at LearnVest, FutureAdvisor, and Personal Capital.
- Forbes speaks with Actiance CEO to learn how Socialite helps companies overcome challenges using social media.
- Prepaid Resources adds FraudGuard security services to their BenefitsDirect Direct Deposit management solution.
- MasterCard wins Mobile Money Innovation award at the GSMA World Congress in Barcelona, along with partners Etisalat and Oberthur Technologies.
 Here is a list of all the funding Finovate alumni received over the course of 2012.
After an impressive 2011, where more than $423 million was raised, 2012 was even better, with more than $450 raised.
A few stand-out metrics for the year:
- A total of 44 companies received funding, some more than once in 2012
- Combined, more than $450 million was raised
- The best quarter for raising capital was the first quarter when more than $150 was raised
- The biggest funding month this year was March, with more than $68 million raised by three companies
Here is a month-by-month breakdown of funding received.
January -- $25 million raised by 3 companies
February -- $57 million raised by 5 companies Capital Access Network: $30 million -- blog post
March -- $68 million raised by 3 companies
April -- $2.5 million raised by 1 company
May -- $55.5 million raised by 5 companies
June -- More than $62 million raised by 8 companies Affinity Solutions: $14.5 million -- blog post
July -- $6 million raised by 2 companies
August -- More than $49 million raised by 6 companies* The Currency Cloud: $3.1 million -- blog postContinuity Control: $2.25 million -- blog post
September -- More than $59 million raised by 5 companies
October -- $37 million raised by 2 companies The Currency Cloud: $1.9 million -- blog post
November -- More than $23 raised by 4 companies
December -- More than $16 million raised by 4 companies Controlabill: $570,000 (A$600,000) -- blog post
*In addition to the companies listed for August, On Deck Capital raised $100 million in credit facility commitments.
Note: Funding that companies received before they demonstrated at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at Julie@Finovate.com or David@Finovate.com.
 August was the biggest funding month of the third quarter. Six companies raised more than $49 million, led by FreeMonee, which alone raised $34 million. In addition to the eight companies listed below, On Deck Capital raised $100 million in credit facility commitments in late August. Here's the Q3 summary for 2012: July -- $6 million raised by 2 companies August -- More than $49 million raised by 6 companies Note: Funding that companies received before they demonstrated at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at Julie@Finovate.com or David@Finovate.com.
Just a few minutes with FutureAdvisor may leave you wondering, "Is that all there is to financial planning?" Whether you are just starting to save for retirement, or have been investing in your 401(k) for years, the financial services industry does the average investor few favors when it comes to making the world of stocks and bonds any easier to understand. It's no wonder why many investors give up. If you're not ready to throw yourself on the mercy of the stock market, consider this: in the same way that Wall Street and hedge fund pros use technology to better diversify their assets and grow their investments, retail investors have taken to online resources like FutureAdvisor to get control of their finances and put their money to work more efficiently. Think about it: Does anyone remember the days before tax-preparation software? I don't, at least not very well. The rise of TurboTax completely changed the game for tax novices. Talk about empowerment! We are seeing a similar shift when it comes to retirement planning and the financial services industry. Now, with web apps and online resources, the average investor can begin diversifying, allocating, and growing his or her investments without the expense, hassle or headache of hiring a full-time financial planner. 
FutureAdvisor includes a helpful "Know Your Risk Tolerance" questionnaire to help customize investment recommendations. FutureAdvisor has been around since 2010. Built by a team of engineering experts and run by a staff of investment professionals, FutureAdvisor combines a clean, easy-to-use interface with a sound, time-tested investing and retirement-planning methodology. This allows the average investor to take full advantage of the latest research in strategies for proper asset allocation, diversification, and keeping costs low. So how does FutureAdvisor do it? After answering a few basic questions about your background, income, and retirement goals, you'll see how quickly FutureAdvisor shows you just how much you need to save each month in order to have the money and lifestyle you want later. FutureAdvisor also provides a recommended strategy for properly allocating assets based on the information you provide. 
Conservative, moderate, or aggressive? FutureAdvisor provides stock, bond, and low-cost mutual and exchange-traded fund recommendations for every investment style.
There's more. Academic research has proven that rebalancing your portfolio regularly can make a major difference in how your investments perform over the long haul. But rebalancing can be difficult and time-consuming. That is where FutureAdvisor shines. Its unique algorithms help you easily make the necessary portfolio adjustments. It also sends email reminders when it is time to rebalance. FutureAdvisor lets you know when high fees may be damaging your portfolio, going so far as to recommend alternative investments such as no-load mutual funds to lower costs. The service also reviews the tax efficiency of your portfolio and suggests ways to keep your tax burden as low as possible. It is easy to get started with FutureAdvisor. Within minutes of setting up my account, I was reading a Portfolio Analysis Dashboard that showed my total assets, how well they were diversified, the impact of fees, and the overall tax efficiency of the portfolio. 
Clear and easy-to-read charts and graphs allow investors to see and understand exactly what is in their portfolios. Your mileage may vary. But thanks to FutureAdvisor, I learned that my diversification was not as good as I thought it was, my portfolio fees were lower than I thought they were, and I could probably contribute more to my 401(k). What's nice is that you can go back and make changes and see what kind of impact they would have on your overall retirement planning picture. How much would you have to save if you worked a little longer? How much would you have to save if you wanted a little higher income in your golden years? With a few clicks, FutureAdvisor will show and tell all. This is all part of the free ("basic") side of FutureAdvisor. Future plans include a premium version that provides automatic rebalancing and portfolio maintenance. Stay tuned for more on that front. To learn more about FutureAdvisor, take a look at their demo from FinovateSpring 2012 here.
- HelloWallet launches new design for web app.
- TIO Networks signs 5 yr agreement with City Utilities of Springfield to provide financial services.
- TechCrunch reports Tradeshift Lands Huge Global Client For Its New CloudScan Product.
- FutureAdvisor wins Bronze in Best in Biz Awards 2012.
- Finextra reports Artisans' Bank chooses Andera oFlows for online deposits.
- American Banker reports CFPB to Collaborate with Startups BillGuard, Plastyc and Simple.
- Ping Identity ranked Number 166 Fastest Growing Company in North America on Deloitte's 2012 Technology Fast 500.
- Braintree expands to Australia, Providing Sophisticated Payment Tools for Australian Merchants.
- Kony Solutions opens Brazilian office, announces Itau Unibanco as a client.
- Allfiled today announced the addition of miiCard verified identities to its personal data service platform.
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.
- For the second consecutive year, CashStar named 1 of the 2012 Best Places to Work in Maine.
- The WSJ compares The Currency Cloud, Currency Fair, Wonga & Nutmeg with Britain's traditional banks. Come check out The Currency Cloud at FinovateFall in NYC September 12 & 13.
- My Bank Tracker reports on a Dwolla integration at a Pittsburgh-based supermarket chain.
- Virtual Piggy service will be integrated into Girly Stuff's e-commerce launch. Check out Virtual Piggy at FinovateFall.
- FutureAdvisor raises $5 mil, launches 401(k) fee analyzer tool.
- Currensee and Direct FX form partnership.
- Jwaala and Truaxis team up to provide credit unions with StatementRewards platform. Come to FinovateFall to check out Truaxis' live demo.
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.
 Online investment advisor, FutureAdvisor, announced today that it has raised $5 million to add to its Series A funding. The round, which comes after raising an undisclosed amount in March, is from existing investors: - Sequoia Capital
- Square COO, Keith Rabois
- Yelp founder, Jeremy Stoppelman
The Seattle-based startup also announced it added a new 401(k) fee analyzer tool to its platform, which launched in May, to help users save on fees associated with their 401(k). TechCrunch reports: "It visualizes the amount of money paid out to mutual fund providers who manage various funds, and makes suggestions for other, similar investments that don't carry the same fees. The new tool is available at www.futureadvisor.com/401k."
To learn more about FutureAdvisor, watch its FinovateSpring 2012 demo.
- Fiserv launches mobile app for debit and credit card rewards program.
- TIO Networks signs deal with MAPCO Express to deploy bill pay kiosks across Tennessee.
- Wipit enables e-commerce websites to accept cash payments.
- ActivePath's ActiveMail reaches major milestone with 500,000 downloads.
- SaveUp raises $5 million, voices usage stats.
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.
- American Banker looks at how Simple (@Simplify) is using open source technology.
- Bloomberg Businessweek features SigFig CEO, Mike Sha, discussing SigFig's business model.
- Social Lending Network reports Lending Club breaks $50 million in loans, Prosper issues a record $13.6 million in new P2P loans In June.
- Southwest Airlines' Spirit magazine features FutureAdvisor.
- ABA Subsidiary and Mortgagebot agree to extend Alliance Agreement.
- American Banker explains how SecondMarket is helping a privately-held bank in Texas find buyers for its stock.
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.
- Business Insider reports on Expensify's growth.
- Financial Post covers FutureAdvisor.
- Commerce Bank partners with Affinity Solutions & Affinion loyalty group.
- eArticles names eToro the leading broker in Australian forex trading.
- WSJ Live reports LearnVest plans to use web tech & phone consults to help users develop financial plans.
- Mobile Apps Showdown profiles Personal Capital.
- Volly selects ProfitStars for online payments.
- Monitise chosen to launch new mobile banking service for Co-operative Bank.
- Business Insider names Mint and Personal Capital 2 finance apps you can't live without.
- BancBox launches payment platform to public.
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.
- This is Money Blog compares Zopa with RateSetter and Funding Circle.
- Geosho brings location-based visualization to Tradeshift.
- TechCrunch lists reasons why its okay to trust FutureAdvisor to manage your money.
- Credit Union Journal reports Star One CU Launches Tyfone's Mobile Banking.
- American Banker reports Andera's oFlows supports paperless account opening.
- Kony and Wipro form partnership to speed up mobile app development.
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.
- Albany Times Union reports CSI's globalVCard leads execs out of ID theft and into mobile payments.
- $3.7 bil Patelco CU commits to ThreatMetrix's malware defense software.
- Backbase powering online banking platform for Absa Group, a subsidiary of Barclays.
- American Banker reports Firethorn Mobile to power Burger King's mobile app.
- GlobalCollect offers BOKU as Mobile Payment Checkout to its Merchant Network.
- Financial Services and Big-Data Executive Mary Anne Keegan joins BillGuard as CMO.
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.
- Tagit wins coveted Emerging Enterprise Award 2012.
- BlogTalkRadio talks to Kathryn Petralia, COO & Co-founder of Kabbage.
- Offermatic alters business model, no longer pursuing card-linked offers.
- Chicago Tribune looks at Future Advisor and Betterment as two inexpensive investing platforms.
- BBC news reports Zopa has lent more than £200m since it started in 2005.
- Credit Sesame Scores $12 Million in Series C Funding.
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.
- 2 Minute Finance covers Concur's FinovateSpring 2012 demo.
- Quid puts FinovateSpring companies through its Big Data algorithm.
- Netbanker reports Doxo Provides the Missing Login at Small Billers.
- TIO Networks named to PROFIT Mag's list of Fastest-Growing Companies in Canada.
- GigaOM reports Wonga readies $1.5 billion IPO.
- Wall Street Journal reviews FutureAdvisor.
- ThreeThriftyGuys.com reviews SaveUp.com.
- American Banker reports Computer Services Inc. (CSI) adds Geezeo's PFM tools to its online banking suite.
- Business Insider recommends using Credit Karma and ReadyForZero to get out of debt and raise your credit score.
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.
- O'Reilly Radar takes an in-depth look at FutureAdvisor, interviews CEO Bo Lu.
- Business Insider recommends Mint & BillGuard as worthy personal finance apps to help you control your finances.
- Strands Finance, selected as tech partner of PostFinance, a Swiss FI & payment transactions provider.
- HIT Consultant features Diversinet CEO on Newest Podcast.
- Security Service FCU selects Tyfone to deliver next gen mobile services.
- PaySimple named to JMP Securities Hot 100 Software Companies 2012.
- Austin's Statesman.com asks: Can Bazaarvoice IPO be catalyst for new wave of startups?
- Altoona's Hearld-Index profiles T8 Webare.
- Barron's looks at SigFig as A Take-Charge Portfolio Manager.
- InComm & Absolute Software form partnership.
- The Examiner looks at how Virtual Piggy is protecting kids online & interviews Founder & CEO, Dr. Jo Webber.
- Check out the latest founder interview: Laura Mather of Silver Tail Systems.
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.
- Bank Technology News reports WattzOn Helps Banks Help Customers Save on Energy Bills.
- Fast Company reports Personal Capital's beautiful app convinces the wealthy to trust their money to strangers.
- TechCrunch reports that Mint.com updated its app to allow users to split transactions.
- Crain'sNewYorkBusiness.com describes how BillGuard fits into the Big Data scene.
- How DCisions, Personal Capital, SigFig, FutureAdvisor, and Jemstep Are Shaking Up Wealth Management.
- Klarna adds Nigel Morris, co-founder of Capital One, and Anton Levy, MD of General Atlantic, to its board of directors.
- Westmoreland Community FCU chooses Geezeo for PFM.
- StockTwits debuts new social signals features.
- Kony Solutions announces $15 million series C financing.
- Mitek enables $10 billion worth of mobile deposits.
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.
The wealth management industry has seen increased press coverage lately. Take, for example, The Economist's recent piece discussing how increased competition from startups has tempted clients into moving assets to lower-cost alternatives. The article mentions DCisions, a startup tackling the big data around client portfolios. It also highlights Personal Capital, which launched at FinovateFall. The Economist states that the startup's online platform:   "... tries to straddle the world between cheap online wealth management and the old world of private banking"
Aside from the cost, one of the largest benefits of moving your millions into a startup like Personal Capital is that the investment advice is unbiased. This is a topic that Business Insider covered last week, voicing concerns that clients' brokers are "royally screwing them over." 
"With no other fees to compare your own to, you could wind up paying for far more than you should - especially if your broker's working on commission."
To ease this concern, the article recommends using DIY tools such as SigFig, FutureAdvisor, or Jemstep. These tools help you see how your funds are performing and how much you're paying in fees. To learn more about these companies, watch DCisions' FinovateEurope 2012 demo, Personal Capital's FinovateFall 2011 demo, SigFig's FinovateFall 2011 demo, FutureAdvisor's FinovateSpring 2012 demo (coming soon), or Jemstep's FinovateSpring 2010 demo.
- Business Insider examines how SigFig, JemStep, and FutureAdvisor can help manage your investments.
- Work Goes Strong recommends using Planwise to help get out of debt.
- Huffington Post interviews Bill Harris, Personal Capital CEO.
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.
 Kicking off the final afternoon session, FutureAdvisor showed how its new platform gives actionable investment advice:
"FutureAdvisor is demoing FutureAdvisor 401(k) Advice, which supports more than 100 of the largest 401(k) plans in the country. With company-specific data about which 401(k) Plans have which specific investment options, FutureAdvisor is able to algorithmically give step-by-step investment advice to investors that takes into account their investment goals, their existing investments elsewhere, and their 401(k)'s limited plan options.
Though other companies have tried to tackle the problem of advising users on their IRA or taxable accounts, no free web service has been available to give specific, actionable advice on investors' 401(k) accounts because of the complexity involved, until now.
With FutureAdvisor's step-by-step advice that takes an investor's 401(k) and other accounts holistically into consideration, investors will be able to save on hidden fund fees, better diversify, and improve their tax efficiency."
Product Launched: May 2012
HQ Location: Seattle, WA Company Founded: May 2010 Metrics: Team of eight CFAs, Math PhDs, and Engineers
Introducing Bo Lu (Co-Founder)
- CNBC covers how SecondMarket is looking to move from trading Facebook to Pinterest.
- TechCrunch reports Boku launched billing partnership with Sprint, giving it partnerships with all 4 major U.S. carriers.
- Meniga's PFM solution powers Sweden's first Smartbank, launched by Skandia.
- SecureKey adds 40 staff in past six months, reaches business and recognition milestones.
- Lendio sees nearly 500% increase in matching businesses with small business loans.
- Check Point launches free ZoneAlarm anti-virus/firewall combo.
- Forbes features article by Mike Alfred, CEO of BrightScope, discussing the differing opinions he, Personal Capital and FutureAdvisor have on the role of financial advisors.
- Fiserv to offer global ACH payments through partnership with Earthport.
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.
Earlier this week, we attended the Future of Money conference in San Francisco. Over 20 Finovate Alumni companies were represented in the audience, and many of them presented or were included on panels. During the conference, we gathered tidbits from some of the companies. Here are a few highlights: Personal CapitalBill Harris, CEO, (pictured below) spoke about how wealth management needs to be more virtual, secure, and personal. He provided some stats  about the wealth-management platform:
- Average account size nearly $500,000
- Operates on a freemium model with $100,000 minimum account size
Mike Alfred, Co-founder and CEO, (pictured right) commented on BrightScope's role in the advisor business:
- Seeks to bring transparency to the market
- Helps consumers steer away from "funds that suck"
 Bo Lu, Co-founder and CEO, (pictured right) commented on FutureAdvisor's platform:
- Makes the advisor process more convenient than traditional advisors
- Scales the advisor process to take less of a percentage than traditional advisors
Bertram Meyer, CEO, (pictured below) discussed how Taulia helps small businesses get paid faster:
- The platform is free for suppliers
 - Charges corporations (buyers) for either:
- A license subscription
- A gain share from the additional discounts earned against the target rate
TradeshiftChristian Lanng, CEO and Founder, (pictured right) described Tradeshift's platform:
- It differs from banks because it has the ability to sift through the data that backs both the buyers and suppliers
- The platform is free for suppliers
- It sells connectivity to buyers as a SAAS platform to connect with supply chain
 Priya Haji, CEO and Co-founder spoke about SaveUp's user base: - Skews towards users in their 20s and 30s
- Half male, half female
- Middle to upper-middle class
- Average income ranges from $75,000 to $125,000
- 30% of users are on the site every day
- 60% of users are on the site every week
To learn more about these companies check out their demos:
- Bank Technology news highlights T8 Webware's internship program.
- Arroweye Solutions patents digital on-demand technology.
- Ensenta & MShift extend the reach of mobile banking with mobile deposit.
- P2P-Banking reports Zopa to add more loan terms.
- Celent publishes FinovateEurope 2012 report that looks at innovative payment startups.
- Acculynk announces Digital River World Payments as a new PaySecure client.
- Corporate Insight looks at FutureAdvisor. Come see their new tech at FinovateSpring 2012 in two weeks.
- BancVue's MoneyIsland wins Eifle Award for Instructional Game of the Year.
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.
 More than 60 leading fintech innovators, both startups and established companies, are gearing up to present at the annual FinovateSpring conference in San Francisco May 8 and 9. Each company provided a sneak peek of what they'll demo on stage next month. Below is the first installment of these teasers. We'll have more next week. Don't miss your chance to see the live demo from each company and meet the execs responsible. Get your FinovateSpring ticket here. ____________________________________________________________________
Balance Street  The premier direct marketplace between consumers and creditors for the purpose of debt settlement, Balance Street, provides consumers the opportunity to relieve their debt burden without fees. Consumers use its web-based automated system to negotiate with creditors directly, avoiding debt settlement companies who charge exorbitant fees (up to 20% of total debt owed). Eliminating this 20% market inefficiency makes for a better financial outcome for consumers and creditors. With over $780 billion in credit card debt in the U.S., the Balance Street technology will revolutionize the way debt is settled. Innovation type: Cards, marketing, PFM
Bazaarvoice  See how leading brands are harnessing the power of online word-of-mouth to boost customer referrals, sales, retention, advocacy, and company innovation while building the world's most powerful social data asset. Innovation type: Communications, marketing, sales and customer service
 BehavioSec No one wants a complicated process for logging in to online or mobile banking. European banks have been forced to go down this route with hardware tokens and smart cards. So now when U.S. banks will be rolling out new multi-layered security on the front-end following FFIEC, will we see the same thing here? With BehavioSec's solution there is a better choice. They add multilayered security through the use of behavioral biometrics. So when the user connects via mobile or online, the technology helps verify that they are who they say they are. Learn more at FinovateSpring 2012. Innovation type: Identity, mobile, security
 BillGuard BillGuard identifies deceptive, erroneous and unauthorized charges on consumer payment cards using advanced crowdsourcing and big-data mining techniques that harness the collective knowledge of millions of consumers reporting billing complaints online and to their banks. BillGuard's Advanced Card Protection Service for Banks is a seamlessly integrated, cloud-based solution that enables issuers to generate new value-add service revenue, and lower inquiry/dispute processing costs, by providing their customers daily bill monitoring and notification, enriched transition details and direct-to-merchant resolution.
Innovation type: Cards, communications, online UI
 CoverHound is changing the way people shop for insurance online. Launching at FinovateSpring, CoverHound's new rate comparison shopping service allows consumers for the first time to compare multiple, instant, accurate rates from top carriers. CoverHound will also be demonstrating an exciting array of products specifically designed to help banks and credit unions generate significant non-interest income while providing a valuable service to their members.
Innovation type: Insurance
 Never before has it been so easy for companies to provide business and retail customers with a way to validate creditworthiness through the use of online deposits. eDeposit provides patented funds visibility and real time settlement to markets across the U.S. in an innovative, new form of payment.
At FinovateSpring, eDeposit announces a new innovation that makes conducting B2B and B2C e-business faster, cheaper and safer.
Innovation type: Payments, security, small business
 From "check-in to check-out", intersecting the worlds of Payments and Advertising, edo takes the next step forward in its vision to transform shopping and saving.
This next wave connects mobile and multi-channel retail . . . imagine a world where purchase and location meet and the new standard for mobile advertising moves from "check-in" to "check-out."
Innovation type: Marketing, mobile, rewards
 Expensify <3's Finovate -- they view it as the premier stage on which to make their biggest announcement of the year. Three years ago, it launched an open beta on the Finovate stage. Two years ago, it unveiled a major realtime analytics feature. One year ago it launched a revolutionary SmartScan service. But this year will trump all that. A whole new approach to business travel. Prepare yourself!
Innovation type: Back office, mobile, small business
Most investors have assets spread across financial institutions and accounts, including limited-option accounts such as their employer's 401(k) plan.
Managing this is a chore - including figuring out which funds, in which amounts, and rebalancing.
Well, it was a chore, before FutureAdvisor.
Innovation type: Investing and asset management, online, PFM
 Giftly is inventing the future of the gift card. Using its new iPhone app, users can send anyone a Giftly for any place they choose. The recipient redeems it on their smartphone when they go. It's fast, fun, and secure.
Giftly's app and web products have been designed to be social, simple, and powerful. Thanks to Facebook, Foursquare, and smart iOS integration, you'll always know which friends are celebrating birthdays, are checking in to cool new places, or are otherwise in need of a quick gift.
 Is it possible to separate the fun of buying from the nuisance of paying? Klarna thinks so. The idea behind Klarna's e-commerce services is the concept of after-delivery payment, letting buyers receive ordered goods before any payment is due. Instead of giving financial information, buyers shop with Klarna just by giving their name and select information (Klarna calculates the risk).
Innovation type: Payments
 Linkable Networks will be debuting a first-to-market capability that significantly broadens the value proposition of card-linked offers to issuing banks, merchants, manufacturers, and cardholding consumers. In addition, Linkable Networks will demonstrate new features recently added to its product platform and user interface.
Innovation type: Cards, mobile, rewards
 MShift believes that financial institutions need to enhance existing mobile banking solutions into mobile wallet and payment solutions.
At Finovate, MShift will demonstrate how mobile banking can influence how a consumer spends money in various retail scenarios.
Innovation type: Banking, payments, small business
 Your customers go mobile with smartphones and tablets. When they cannot fulfill their needs in mobile self-service, do you jump in at the right time to help them complete their business? Do you want to maximize the opportunity for smart customer experience and increased business via smart mobile devices (while reducing costs)? NICE Mobile Reach can do that for you. Don't miss its demo at FinovateSpring.
Innovation type: Mobile, sales
 Personal Capital is wealth management for the Internet Age. The company's online platform combines digital technology with highly personalized service to provide a holistic view of your unique financial picture. The free online dashboard presents all of your financial data in one place, including an assessment of your allocation, investment risk and fees.
These days, the financial lives of Americans are becoming more and more complex. At FinovateSpring, Personal Capital will unveil core new features that enable you to access your financial data in real time, on-the-go. You'll be able to view and do, anywhere, anytime.
Innovation type: Investing, mobile, PFM
 Pindrop Security provides enterprise solutions that help prevent phone-based fraud. Pindrop's acoustical fingerprinting technology detects fraudulent calls and authenticates legitimate callers, helping customers eliminate financial losses and reduce operational costs. Pindrop's breakthrough technology is the first of its kind to fingerprint individual phone calls, providing verification of caller provenance.
Recently named one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies at the 2012 RSA conference, Pindrop's solutions help companies feel more confident in the security of phone-based financial transactions.
Innovation type: Identity, security
 Easily administer and coordinate your annual budget with Budget Manager from ProfitStars. ProfitStars takes the headaches, and the spreadsheets, out of the budgeting process and optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of budgeting and planning.
The company will show you how this newly redesigned browser-based version enables users to construct and manage a more efficient budgeting process, including how to tackle more difficult items like salaries and fixed assets.
Innovation type: Banking
 Discover a new Facebook app for banks that will not only make you relevant and engage Facebook users, but will also get your customers recommending and endorsing your card products. It drives great loyalty from existing customers and also helps to devise new customer acquisition --all through Facebook.
Serverside does this by letting people design their own credit or debit card using a picture from their Facebook gallery, then post it to their Facebook wall. Their friends then click on the card image to design their own card and help your bank to go viral!
Innovation type: cards
 Social Money can provide any bank in the world its own branded version of our revolutionary and award-winning SmartyPig technology. A new bank can be up and running on our system within 90 days in any language and currency, for a fraction of the cost of internal development efforts.
Innovation type: Banking products, PFM
 The dawn of compliance solutions that work.
Meet Molly. 115 different people use Molly's SSN. Financial institutions have no idea who these people really are.
This is possible because FIs and so-called identity protection companies can only verify identity. Verification is not enough. Full identification is needed to fight fraud and provide FIs the means to meet compliance requirements. Only Financial ICONN from TASCET can identify financial customers.
Once Molly activates her ICONN, TASCET proactively secures her identity and FIs know exactly who she is.
Innovation type: Identity, security
 Taulia takes the waste out of the supply chains of Fortune 500 Enterprises while simultaneously solving the cash-flow needs of their suppliers. The large enterprise buyers get discounts by paying their invoices early. In return, their suppliers get paid when they want. In Taulia's young life, it has already enabled small suppliers from 40+ countries around the world to receive hundreds of millions of dollars of early payments.
Innovation type: Lending, payments, small business
 The Under-18 audience has an estimated $50 billion in spending power. Learn how to successfully monetize the kids/teen market in this powerful demo by Virtual Piggy, an exciting new company that provides innovative technological solutions to help bridge the gap between children, parents and online retailers.
Innovation type: Payments
 Wall Street Survivor is the only place for the beginner to learn about investing. Guided missions, beginner-focused learning content, combined with the web's best stock simulator help users effectively manage their financial future.
Innovation type: Investing & asset management, marketing, PFM
 Mobile commerce is estimated to be a $31 billion industry by 2015, but how will the underbanked participate? Wipit has unlocked mobile payments for this massive and largely untapped consumer demographic representing 25% of all U.S. households and over 70 million U.S. prepaid wireless subscribers. Underbanked consumers can now make in-app and online payments with a single click. No need for bank accounts or credit cards; Wipit lets underbanked consumers use their payment method of choice-- cash.
Innovation type: Cards, payments
Stay tuned next week for another sneak peek of FinovateSpring 2012 presenting companies.
- CashSherpa.com reviews FutureAdvisor.
- SuccessStories.com features Alexa Von Tobel, LearnVest CEO.
- MyBankTracker reports TIO Networks gives underbanked a mobile wallet. See TIO Networks demo live at FinovateSpring next month.
- Wisconsin State Journal features TASCET, who will demo its Financial Iconn technology at FinovateSpring in San Fran, May 8-9.
- Northwest Credit Union Association reports Oregon Employees FCU is piloting SaveUp's prize-linked savings alternative. See them at FinovateSpring.
- Business Insider names Yodlee and Andera as 2 of 5 faceless companies that control your money.
- MSNBC consults BillGuard to determine the validity of certain questionable charges. See them demo at FinovateSpring.
- Financial Planning takes a closer look at Balance Financial.
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.
- MSN Money UK explains how Zopa represents the future of banking.
- MintLife blog reviews FutureAdvisor. Come see their live demo at FinovateSpring.
- Silicon Prairie News covers a SXSW panel discussion where Dwolla discussed growth. See its new tech at FinovateSpring.
- Forbes interviews PaySimple CEO, Eric Remer, on how he began the startup. Come see PaySimple at FinovateSpring in San Fran.
- MSN Business on Main interviews Dwolla's Ben Milne, asks if it's the next PayPal.
- Currensee expands into Latin American region with Spanish website.
- Xero partners with Abukai, helps MYOB users migrate accounting software.
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.
|
|
|
 |
Watch Demos
Click above for video archives of all demos.
Twitter
See all Finovate tweets |
Watch Demos
Subscribe RSS
Subscribe Email
Follow Us
Contact Us
Topics
