• Xero and Stripe partner to simplify online payments for small businesses.

• Bank Innovation reports: Mitek Launches V 2.0 of Mobile Photo Bill Pay solution.

• Boku teams with PlayJam to bring mobile payments to smart TVs.

• SimpleTuition partners with College Parents of America to bring student loan and loan comparison insight from SimpleTuition its members.

• Creditnet.com ranks the Best Personal Finance Software of 2013 (So Far): 1) Personal Capital, 2) Mint.com 3) ReadyForZero.

• Emida adds Colombia to list of operating countries.

• Kofax launches Analytics for Capture business intelligence solution.

• Pymnts.com interviews TransferWise co-founder Kristo Kaarmann.

• RightStartups takes a look at Betterment as a "new concept in a very traditional industry."

• Dynamics launches "Everything Else is Just Plastic" TV Ad.

• TradeBox Media reviews Zooz's retail app plug-in.

• International Business Times looks at how Arxan's technology is used to protect mobile banking apps from attacks.

• Newfination interviews Uri Gruenbaum, co-founder and CEO of TipRanks.

• Newfination interviews Adhil Shetty, founder and CEO of BankBazaar.

• Pymnts.com features TipRanks Financial Accountability Engine. Join TipRans in San Francisco for FinovateSpring.

• Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth talks about hyper growth in Europe.

• InvestmentNews columnist takes a look at Finect. See them demo at FinovateSpring in May.

• Yodlee forms partnership with London fintech incubator Level39.

• Virtual Piggy wins The National Parenting Center's 2013 Seal of Approval under the Websites category. See it demo live at FinovateSpring.

• Signifyd receives the Merchant Risk Council's 2013 Emerging Technology Award in the startup company category. Come see it demo live at FinovateSpring.

• Engadget reports: PayPal and Discover expand partnership, will reach 2 million stores by year-end.

• PandoDaily looks at Xero's stealth period.

• Billhighway partners with the Automation Alley Fund organization.

• Braintree hires Google Wallet co-creator & former Square employee Rob von Behren as lead software engineer.

• Arvest Bank to deploy IntelliResponse Virtual Agent technology. See them demo at FinovateSpring in May.

• GMC Software Technology founder Rene Muller wins Lifetime Achievement award.

• PrivatBank to provide service to customers wearing Google Glass.

• American Banker interviews Pageonce COO Steve Schultz on the company's goal to be the "go-to financial app on the phone".

• Mountain America CU launches MoneyDesktop's My Money Manager PFM.

• Blackhawk Network prices of its IPO of 10,000,000 shares of Class A common stock at $23 per share.

• American Banker reports: Planwise Courts Bank Partners.

• Black Enterprise features Bolstr as Tech Startup of the Week.

• American Banker reports BillGuard has flagged $50M in suspect charges.

• The Globe and Mail considers how eToro can benefit investors.

• TechCrunch reports: SMB Inventory Management Startup TradeGecko Partners With Xero Accounting.

• Rebirth Financial unveils white-label crowdfunding platform.

• Trustly has now processed 10 billion SEK in payments since it began in 2008, has fully rolled out Direktbetalning in Sweden 

• Investors Business Daily interviews Barry Silbert, SecondMarket CEO, who says the stock market is broken.

• Xero opening new LA office for Southern California team.

• Bank Innovation reports: Fiserv Tops 1 Million Mobile Deposit Capture Users, 7 Million Mobile Users.

• Radio New Zealand reports: Xero to launch fully into U.S. market in July.

• Candace Klein, SoMoLend CEO, discusses the hardship that the SEC's delay of the JOBS Act has caused.

• Dwolla updates Magneto extension.

• Yodlee receives 2013 Honorable Mention in Industry Partner category for the Barlow Research Associates' Monarch Innovation Awards.

• Virtual Piggy integrates with Oracle ATG Web Commerce, expands reach of network to more than 390,000 brands.

• Mitek's Mobile Deposit solution receives top award for Overall Most Innovative from Barlow Research Associates.

• Management Today interviews Zopa CEO, Giles Andrews.

• TechCrunch looks at Realty Mogul and its recent win at the Founder Showcase pitch competition. See them in action at FinovateSpring in May.

• GreenDot and UniRush launch reloadable prepaid Visa card. Join GreenDot for FinovateSpring in San Francisco.

• Allied Payment Network bill payment technology integrates with CSPI's Aurora online banking platform.

• Zooz announces partnership with ChronoPay. Join Zooz in San Francisco for FinovateSpring in May.

• Identity Theft 911 CEO to lead discussion on social media and insurer risk at upcoming NAMIC seminar.

• Roadtrip Nation interviews Dan Reed of Bazaarvoice.

• Money Street Smart reviews TradeKing.

• Hard Assets Alliance features an interview with Gold Bullion International CEO Steven Feldman.

• Newfination interviews Taavet Hinrikus of TransferWise.

• Engine talks about rewarding risk-takers with GoodApril founder Benny Joseph.

With 300 fintech innovators already taking advantage of Yodlee's 10-month old accelerator program, the company's sights are set on still more companies coming on board. In fact, Yodlee anticipates growth of more than 50% by the end of the year.

One of the key features of the program is free access to Yodlee's API, which brings with it the ability to draw from a wealth of financial data, from bank accounts to rewards campaigns. Program companies have taken this data and run with it, building everything from eWallets to new lending services.

Aside from its role in "paying it forward" (fintech edition), Yodlee has been a very successful outfit in its own right. The company has more than 40 million users and $100 million in capital, with 20% of its customers coming from outside the United States.

It's worth pointing out that Yodlee's accelerated startups include a handful of Finovate alumni such as EZBOB and FreeAgent (both companies fresh from appearances at FinovateEurope). Other alumni taking advantage of Yodlee's platform include Credit Karma, Xero, and LearnVest.

Success with the accelerator program, which was launched in May 2012, may be what has encouraged the company to launch its API incubator program to cater to a different subset of startups. So far, Yodlee has been able to incubate 10 companies, including Finovate alumn, Planwise.

Yodless was last on the Finovate stage in September 2012 as part of FinovateFall in New York. Watch a demo of Yodlee in action here, as they present their small business platform.

• MasterCard announces MasterPass, enabling one-touch transactions with payment cards and devices.

• BankNxt takes a look at Finovate Europe 2013.

• Service2Media launches new version of App Lifecycle Platform, M2Active 4.0.

• TSYS extends payment processing contract with Green Dot.

• lovemoney.com features Azimo's money transfer service.

• Continuity Control releases regulatory compliance management system for small- to mid-size credit unions.

• Kantox adds spot transactions to FX to offer a full range of FX services to corporate clients.

• Kony opens EMEA office, enhances mobile CRM product.

• Market Consensus reviews BillGuard.

• New Zealand-based bank, ASB, supports automagic bank feeds into Xero.

• Next Advisor compares TrustedID with competitor.

• Des Moines Register reports: Open atmosphere, passion for product help Cedar Falls' Banno grow.

• SafetyPay to power Computop's Paygate payment platform.

• The Economist highlights TransferWise. See them demo at FinovateEurope next week.

• Strategic Shopping blog, November Sunflower, features Jingit.

• Top Technology News takes a look at the Flint mobile payment system.

• Linkable Networks now offers deals at Lunds and Byerly's Minnesota Grocery stores.

• Virtual Piggy opens London office. Come watch its live demo at FinovateEurope next week.

• Xero's Report Packs go live for Australian partners.

• Bloomberg looks at how StockTwits is adjusting to Twitter changes.

• eToro updates Trader for iOS to allow for native and social registration.

• SMC Securities, Global Capital to integrate Heckyl Technologies platform. See them demo next week at FinovateEurope.

• Finovate Alumni abound in Payment Source's list of 11 major mergers in payments technology.

• TechCrunch reports Braintree's New Payments Layer Lets Users Sign Up For Apps Without Re-Entering Their Credit Card Data.

• Mitek and Allied Payment Network Expand Availability of Mobile Photo Bill Pay.

• Backbase and iQStore sign partnership agreement for Russian market.

• Xero integrates with Harvest, a time tracking and invoicing software company.

• CNBC's Squawk on the Street features BOKU.

• HID Global partners with BehavioSec to improve fraud detection system.

• FIS acquires mFoundry for $120 million.

• Facebook integration, customer management features added to Flint mobile app.

• ACI Worldwide to buy Online Resources for more than $120 million.

Among the members of the Paperless Coalition are three Finovate Alumni: Xero, Manilla and Expensify. The Coalition is led by HelloFax, and has set-up a website, paperless2013.org where businesses can "take the pledge" to work toward using less paper - and sign up for the coalition's monthly newsletter.

According to Reduce.org, the average office worker consumes more than 10,000 sheets of paper every day. More than three million tons of office paper are used in the United States alone every year.

Also participating in the Coalition is Google via Google Drive.

To see Xero's most recent Finovate demonstration, click here. Manilla's last Finovate demo is here.  Expensify can be seen in action here.

• Xero's new release includes new features: email templates, payments terms & outstanding statements.

• Purchasing Insight blog features Taulia.

• Financial Advisor Magazine considers EFL's approach to determining risk in entrepreneurs.

• Business Insider recommends using Enloop to help draft business plans.

• Expensify gets a shout-out on NBC.

• Intern Match blog suggests using planwise.

• PC Mag recommends keeping Dashlane in your security toolkit.

• Wipro announces launch of SmartOffers solution demoed at FinovateAsia.

• Virtual Piggy enters into Partnership with WorldPay to further expand Virtual Piggy eCommerce service in the international marketplace.

• Tyfone and IQT sign strategic investment and tech development deal.

• Fenergo wins Best Customer Onboarding Solution award.

• DeviceFidelity extends Good Vault identity and access management system to iPhones. 

• Experian to help media giant Sky optimize customer prospect-marketing data.

• Compass Plus earns high marks in annual PayX report.

• VentureBeat talks with PayPal's Dan Schatt about its integration with Coinstar kiosks.

• Philly.com interviews VirtualPiggy CEO, Dr. Jo Webber.

• The Australian reports: Cloud computing firm Xero could give Reckon a run for its money.

• Union State Bank of Fargo chooses Andera's oFlows platform for online account opening and lending.

• Credit Union Journal reports KBR Heritage FCU To Offer Geezeo.

• AndKeepGoing.com reviews TradeKing.

• Renaud Laplanche, Lending Club CEO, hints at IPO.

Cloud-based accounting platformXero announced last week a NZ$82 million (US$67 million) investment from the following two companies:

• Matrix Capital Management: NZ$58 million (US$48 million)
• Peter Thiel-backed Valar Ventures: NZ$24 million (US$19 million)

Of the total, NZ$60 mil (US$49 mil) was new money and another NZ$22 million (US$18 million) went to purchase shares from Xero's three largest shareholders. The new investors purchased the shares in order to minimize dilution to existing shareholders.

To learn more about Xero, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

• Bill.com Featured in USA Today.

• Billcom adds open APIs to banking platform.

• Blackhawk Network Announces New Financial Service Products in Canada.

• Startup Central looks at Heckyl, Clari5 and BankBazaar at FinovateAsia.

• VentureBeat considers SecondMarket's partnership with Angellist.

• M.O. interviews Constancio Larguia, CEO & founder of Weemba.

• SiliconBeat looks at Personal Capital's 401(k) product.

• Kabbage Becomes Exclusive Funding Provider for Bonanza Sellers.

• Entrepreneur features SigFig.

• American Banker reports: Bill.com Ties Cash-Flow Tools to Banks' Small Business Software.

• Finextra reports UBank gathers transaction data for spending comparison site.

• Xero to dual list on ASX and NZX.

• ShopKeep POS announces entry into the quick serve market with full kitchen printing capabilities.

• Mashable lists SimpleTuition, ReadyForZero, and Tuition.io as tools to help minimize student loan debt.

• Capital Access Network moves Headquarters to NYC.

• Crowdfund Insider reports SoMoLend Announces New York Expansion.

New Zealand-based cloud accounting software company, Xero, recently held its annual meeting where it released some interesting metrics and announced it has reached 100k paying customers.

Here's a summary of what it disclosed:

Cloud-based accounting program, Xero, announced today it has integrated with ADP payroll services.

This enables customers to conduct payroll activities, not strictly accounting, through Xero. Jamie Sutherland, U.S. President of Operations, states that the integration is done using Xero's API and will be an "add-on" for Xero users.

According to PandoDaily:

"They've been working on integrating the services for six to eight months and as Jamie Sutherland says, 'it's a real coup'."

Since we are nearing the end of the first quarter, we wanted to look back at all of the Finovate alums who have raised funding over the past few months.

Here's the month-by-month breakdown:

January -- $25 million raised by 3 companies

Earlier this month, online accounting software Xero announced a $16.6 million round of financing, funded partially by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures. This is not this first time the famed investor has funded Xero.

TechCrunch reports:

"Thiel first invested $3 million in New Zealand-founded Xero back in 2010, with the aim of fueling expansion in the United States. The company says that's also the reason for the latest round."

MYOB co-founder Craig Winkler and Sam Morgan also participated in the round.

To learn more about Xero, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.