Finovate Alumni News– April 11, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6 is now up.
  • Jumio partners with IdentityMind to provide anti-money-laundering Bitcoin compliance for exchanges.
  • FIS launches GenNOW to make it easier for mobile and prepaid card users to access their funds from FIs.
  • Aon Hewitt and HelloWallet partner to help employers bring financial wellness to their workforce.
  • PayPal partners with Samsung to enable users to pay with their fingerprint, launches app for smartwatches.
  • Blackhawk Network recognized for Best Prepaid Innovation at Innovation Project 2014 conference awards.
  • CU Times looks at Citizens Business Bank’s success with Guardian Analytics’ fraud prevention tools.
  • App Developer Magazine looks at Lighter Capital’s RevenueLoan.
  • Birdback and Affiliate Window bring the ease of online offers to offline retailers based in Europe.
  • Betterment’s mobile app makes mobile PIN login available for users.
  • Bill.com wins Monarch Innovation Award in Innovative Industry Partner category.
  • BizJournals profiles Kabbage co-founder and COO, Kathryn Petralia.
  • American Express Open Forum takes a look at ZenPayroll. See them demo at FinovateSpring in San Jose.
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.

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 6

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Welcome to the finale of our FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek series. If you’re just joining us, then you might want to check out the previous five installments of our Sneak Peek (see below). There’s no better way to get to know the entrepreneurs and innovators who will be demoing on the Finovate stage on April 29 and 30 in San Jose.

You can find out more about our upcoming event – including our new location and locale – on our FinovateSpring 2014 page here.

Today we wrap up the series with eight more companies, starting with transaction management specialist Avoka and ending with WePay, an innovator in risk analysis for merchants, crowdfunders, and software makers. In between, we’ll talk security and digital currencies, alternative lending and credit decisioning, credit card vaults and Insurance Buying 3.0.

Enjoy!

Avoka_lo_res_logo
Avoka TransactWEB – an Omni-Channel 2.0 customer transaction experience form the leaders in SmartForm & Transaction Management.
Features:
  • Omni-Channel 2.0 – Seamless crossover between channels in a single transaction
  • Integration with ID verification and signature services for maximum convenience
  • All delivered without programming
Why it’s great:
Avoka TransactWEB delivers an Omni-Channel 2.0 experience for account opening, loan origination, etc. without programming.
Presenters:
Phil Copeland, CEO and Co-Founder
Phil is responsible for the company’s business strategy and worldwide operations.
Jeff Kalicki, Account Manager
Jeff is comfortable presenting technology to all levels of business, as well as leading architecture discussions.

Coinbase_lo_res_logo

Coinbase is a bitcoin wallet and platform where merchants and consumers can transact with the new digital currency bitcoin.
Features:
  • The ability to debit customers for a more convenient checkout experience
  • The ability to set individualized merchant permission controls via API keys
  • The ability to use recurring billing
Why it’s great:
Coinbase offers innovative tools that allow merchants to accept bitcoin payments easily and securely.
Presenters:
Roger Gu, Business Development Manager
Roger leads payment partnerships at Coinbase. He previously worked in Strategy and Development at Visa and in Investment Banking at Marcum Cronus. Roger holds an A.B. in Economics from Princeton.
Nahid Samsami, Business Development Manager
Nahid previously worked as a senior product manager at Playdom, acquired by Disney Interactive. She began her career at Bain and Company and holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University.

CUneXus_Solutions_lo_res_logo

CUneXus’ unique lending platform integrates at all digital and physical touch points, delivering an omnichannel borrowing experience, proven to significantly increase loan volume and reduce acquisition cost.
Features:
  • Customers can easily access loans anytime, anywhere – with no loan application
  • Lenders enjoy increased product penetration, loan volume, and ROI
  • Simple integration with online and mobile banking
Why it’s great:
CUneXus helps lenders drive substantial loan volume, by providing customers a refreshingly simple on-demand borrowing experience across traditional, online, and mobile banking channels.
Presenters:
Dave Buerger, Co-Founder and President
Dave is a finance and marketing visionary who has been recognized by CUNA and CUES for award-winning strategies that have yielded record loan volumes and response rates.
Darin Chong, Co-Founder
Darin is an expert strategist and has been instrumental in the development of the company’s Comprehensive Pre-Screened Lending (CPL) strategy.

OnBudget_lo_res_logo

OnBudget develops PFM tools, Mobile Apps, and Bank Companion Cards that give banked consumers simple budgeting tools and banks a profitable way to monetize them.
Features:
  • Uniquely profitable prepaid product simplifies banked consumers’ budgeting needs
  • Auto learns users’ spending habits, suggests budgets
  • Analyzes spending trends, offers insights/savings opps to help users stay on track
Why it’s great:
OnBudget’s intuitive and interactive solution delights banked consumers by simplifying their budgets. It’s a bank companion card that provides real consumer value at no cost to the consumer.
Presenter:
Jim Collas, President and CEO
Jim is a personal computing pioneer with nearly 30 years of senior exec
utive experience in computers, prepaid cards, and consumer markets. He is a successful entrepreneur and visionary leader.

Spreedly_lo_res_logo
Spreedly is the independent credit card vault that works with any PCI end point API. We provide all the benefits of tokenization without gateway lock-in.
Features:
  • Quickly extend your business to non-gateway end point APS’s (hotel, ticketing, transportation, restaurants)
  • Automatically update lost/expired cards
  • One integration, 60+ gateways, 70+ countries
Why it’s great:
Spreedly gives you all the flexibility of having your own credit card vault without the headache of PCI compliance or building your own integrations.
Presenter:
Justin Benson, CEO
Justin specializes in scaling startups from concept to IPO/acquisition. He’s experienced in driving direct revenue and leveraging partnerships to achieve double-digit SaaS revenue growth.

Sureify_lo_res_logo
Sureify educates consumers on their life insurance options, helps them build a plan that’s right for them, and take the next steps to get covered.
Features:
  • Learn about life insurance from simple text, visuals, & videos
  • Unbiased, third-party source for life insurance education
  • Define needs and build the right plan for you quickly
Why it’s great:
Sureify is the only unbiased, third-party source for life insurance education online.
Presenters:
Dustin Yoder, VP of Business Development
Dustin leads strategy, product and business development. Loves talking with our customers, prospecting all possible channels, and relationship building in every part of our business.
Chris Cichon, Marketing
Chris drives marketing and customer experiences. Loves digital marketing and growth hacking; dabbles in front-end web development.

True_Link_Financial_lo_res_logo
True Link protects vulnerable seniors from predatory marketing and fraud.
Features:
  • Seniors are victims of $100bn/year in scams
  • Seniors are the largest, fastest growing market in the U.S.
  • True Link is the killer app for the 43 million people caring for their aging parents.
Why it’s great:
Everyone deserves a safe way to spend their money without having to worry about scams, fraud or spending mishaps.
Presenter:
Kai Stinchcombe, Founder and CEO
Kai is a data scientist and entrepreneur who created the True Link Prepaid Visa Card after discovering that his grandmother was the victim of several credit card frauds.

WePay_lo_res_logo
WePay enables marketplaces, crowdfunding sites, and business software makers to offer payment services to their customers without worry about risk or loss.
Features:
  • WePay’s Veda risk engine leverages big data to make better decisions
  • WePay’s Innovative Risk API collects risk data from platform partners
  • Veda analyzes social footprint to verify users
Why it’s great:
Through its proprietary Veda social risk engine, WePay gives platforms a flexible payment API that provides a great user experience while still taking on all their fraud risk and compliance burdens.
Presenter:
John Canfield, VP Risk Management
John leads all our risk strategy, processes and tactics at WePay. He holds a Masters and Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and an MBA from Stanford.

Finovate Alumni News– April 10, 2014

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBoost Mobile waiving check loading, money transfer fees for its Wipit-powered mobile wallet through September.
  • Banno CEO Wade Arnold wins CEO of the Year award from Technology Association of Iowa.
  • CBS News takes a look at Dynamics‘ “credit card with a keypad.”
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.

Apply to Demo Your Latest FinTech Innovation at FinovateFall 2014

btn3_ov.pngWith the presenter roster set for FinovateSpring, we’ve begun our global search for the financial technology innovations that will be showcased at FinovateFall 2014 on September 23 & 24 in New York City. 

Last year, FinovateFall welcomed a sold-out crowd of more than 1,100 executives who witnessed 69 new fintech innovations debut via our signature demo-only format.

This fall, based on the early interest, we expect the auditorium to be just as packed and to showcase even more great innovations than last year.

If your company is interested in debuting your latest and greatest at the premier event for fintech innovation, please email us at [email protected] for more details.

If you’re interested in attending FinovateFall to watch the future of fintech unfold live on stage, tickets are now on sale for the event at the lowest price that we’ll offer.

We’ll see you in New York in September (or San Francisco in a few weeks)!

FinovateFall 2014 is sponsored by: The Bancorp, CapitalSource, Financial Technology Partners, Greater St. Louis Financial Forum, Hudson Cook LLP, UK Trade & Investment, Visa

FinovateFall 2014 is partners with: Aite, ABA, BankersHub, California Bankers Association, Canada, Celent, Filene Research Institute, Hotwire PR, Javelin Strategy, The Paypers, SME Finance Forum, & Visible Banking

Apply to Demo Your Latest FinTech Innovation at FinovateFall 2014

btn3_ov.pngWith the presenter roster set for FinovateSpring, we’ve begun our global search for the financial technology innovations that will be showcased at FinovateFall 2014 on September 23 & 24 in New York City. 

Last year, FinovateFall welcomed a sold-out crowd of more than 1,100 executives who witnessed 69 new fintech innovations debut via our signature demo-only format.

This fall, based on the early interest, we expect the auditorium to be just as packed and to showcase even more great innovations than last year.

If your company is interested in debuting your latest and greatest at the premier event for fintech innovation, please email us at [email protected] for more details.

If you’re interested in attending FinovateFall to watch the future of fintech unfold live on stage, tickets are now on sale for the event at the lowest price that we’ll offer.

We’ll see you in New York in September (or San Francisco in a few weeks)!

FinovateFall 2014 is sponsored by: The Bancorp, CapitalSource, Financial Technology Partners, Greater St. Louis Financial Forum, Hudson Cook LLP, UK Trade & Investment, Visa

FinovateFall 2014 is partners with: Aite, ABA, BankersHub, California Bankers Association, Canada, Celent, Filene Research Institute, Hotwire PR, Javelin Strategy, The Paypers, SME Finance Forum, & Visible Banking

Kabbage Brings in $270 Million in Debt Financing to Provide Small Businesses with Funding of Their Own

KabbageLogo.jpg

Further highlighting Forbes’ point that the traditional banker is dead, small business financing company Kabbage announced today it received a revolving, 3-year line of debt financing, totaling $270 million.

The funds, which were provided by Guggenheim Securities, will be used to supply small businesses with working capital, both in the U.S. and internationally.

This new installment comes a year after the Atlanta-based company received $75 million in debt financing from Victory Park Capital and Thomvest Ventures.

Kabbage has seen an increasing demand for small business financing, both for web-based businesses and brick-and-mortar stores. The Wall Street Journal commented on its growth, reporting:

“In the last 15 or so months, default rates have dropped by more than 50%…. while Kabbage’s business has grown five-fold. The company aims to provide $1 billion in credit to businesses next year.”

Rob Frohwein, CEO, hinted that growth has been so dramatic that the company expects to pull in more financing soon. In an interview with TechCrunch, Frohwein comments on the funding, stating:

“Yes, this is a large facility, but looking at our growth rate, it’s something that we will need to look at again in a reasonably short period of time, believe it or not.”

To learn more about Kabbage, check out its live demo from FinovateSpring 2013 where it debuted its QuickBooks Financing Platform.

OTP Banka Slovakia to Deploy CRIF Credit Framework

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Add one more bank to the hundreds of financial institutions in more than 20 countries currently relying on CRIF to manage their lending business.

OTP Banka Slovakia announced this week that it was deploying the CRIF Credit Framework, replacing its old loan approval system with a technology that represents “global best practices in lending processes and risk assessment,” according to bank CRO, Peter Leško.

In addition to the technology itself, CRIF’s experience in helping banks make the transition to more sophisticated loan origination and credit management solutions also helped OTP Banka Slovakia make the switch. Leško cited CRIF’s “flexible software framework” and the company’s ability to “act on site in local language” as key to providing both the support and the independence the bank wants.

This last point echoes what we heard from CRIF in the days leading up to their Finovate debut in February at FinovateEurope 2014. “Banks are more and more requesting the ability to make changes,” CRIF marketing director Sheila Donahue explained in a pre-demo briefing. “They don’t want to be dependent on vendors or have their hands tied.” Read more from our briefing with CRIF here.
OTP Banka Slovakia is part of the OTP Group. Based in Bratislava and with more than 600 employees, the bank has a network of 63 branches throughout Slovakia. OTP Banka Slovakia reported assets of €1.4 billion as of the end of 2013.
CRIF was founded in Italy in 1988. The company’s 2013 revenues were €305 million. More than 2,400 banks and financial institutions worldwide use CRIF’s technology daily.

Finovate Alumni News– April 9, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgMichigan Education Association selects Billhighway to improve membership experience.
  • ProfitStars’ iPay Solutions Resource Center receives NACHA’s 2014 PayItGreen Award.
  • miiCard launches IDaaS for Lenders, a solution that combines ID proofing, bureau data, bank data, & authentication.
  • CardFlight launches SwipeSimple to offer a co-branded mobile POS product to merchants.
  • LA Parent features Oink among its “Cool Tools.”
  • OTP Banka Slovakia to deploy CRIF Credit Framework.
  • LendUp launches in Mississippi, the state with the highest percentage of unbanked and underbanked households in the U.S.
  • Rippleshot CEO Canh Tran to join Chicago-area startups at White House summit on entrepreneurialism. See Rippleshot demo at FinovateSpring in San Jose.
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.

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 5

FinovateSpring 2014 Sneak Peek: Part 5

FinovateSpring2014ButtonLogo.jpg

Below, we’ve brought you another set of companies that will show off their newest technology at FinovateSpring on April 29 and 30 in San Jose. The six companies featured below will demo their fintech solutions that target problems ranging from marketing to security.

In case you missed them, check out the following posts in our series, each featuring 6 companies:


EncapLogoFS14

Encap Security allows FIs to think outside the “authentication box,” providing the ideal solution for mobile and online banking, CNP transaction and call center authentication.

Features:
Encap Security’s in-app authentication solution:

    • increases security while improving customer experience
    • increases adoption, revenue while decreasing costs
    • satisfies regulatory requirements.

Why it’s great:
For the first time, you can forget that old trade-off between security and ease-of-use.  

Presenters:

Adam Dolby,VP of Business Development
Dolby serves as Encap Security’s VP of Business Development, with a focus on the Americas. He brings over 20 years of experience in the development and delivery of e-banking products.
LinkedIn

David Nayes, Director of Sales
Nayes has a deep understanding of strategies for combating payment and mobile banking fraud.
LinkedIn


InsuritasLogo

Insuritas is the nation’s leading SaaS banking solution delivering on the high demand for Web based services from financial institutions that converts online banking sites into sales engines.

Features:
    • SmartCART delivers shop, compare, buy, single check-out and post-sale online account creation
    • Sales revenue annuitizes at 82% YOY
    • Contains products consumers purchase and repurchase every year
Why it’s great: 
Transforms bank web eco-systems for 69 million online banking customers from service sites into ecommerce platforms that generate value added, annuitizing, non-cyclical fee income.  
Presenters:

Jeffrey Chesky, Founder, President & CEO 
Chesky pioneers the design, installation, and outsourced management of insurance agencies for financial institutions nationally.
Matt Chesky, SVP
Chesky joined Insuritas in 2012, oversaw design and deployment of Insuritas SmartCART Technology and SaaS platform; Graduated Yale ’12 with a degree in Economics.
LinkedIn

PellucidAnalyticsLogo

Pellucid Analytics fixes pitchbook creation. It is a tablet and browser product that lets you browse print-ready charts and drag them into a pitchbook.

Features: 

    • Leverage a large gallery charts formatted to firm-specific branding standards 
    • Quickly assemble charts into a pitchbook 
    • Focus on applying judgment to information and crafting a compelling message 

Why it’s great:
Pellucid compresses the time required to perform a broad range of pitchbook-related activities from days to seconds.

Presenters:

Adrian Crockett, CEO and Cofounder
Crockett has over 14 years of investment banking experience, heading groups at Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank.
LinkedIn

Jamie Ballingall, Chief Scientist and Cofounder
Ballingall oversees delivery of the product and was formerly an investment banking quant and adjunct associate professor at Columbia University.
LinkedIn


RadiusLogo2

Radius is the modern way to market to small businesses. Unlock your best SMB customer segments. Deploy targeted marketing campaigns and measure your success.

Features:

    • Gain insights on more than 27 million U.S. businesses
    • Discover your best customer segments and create look-alike lead lists
    • Deploy campaigns and measure success

Why it’s great:
Radius takes the guesswork out of lead generation. Identify your best market segments. Deploy amazing marketing campaigns. Learn. Repeat.  

Presenter:

Darian Shirazi, Founder & CEO
Shirazi was an early employee at Facebook and worked on the Sell Your Item team at eBay. He has founded, invested in, and advised many successful technology companies.
LinkedIn


TextPowerLogo

TextPower’s TextKey protects data, websites, and VPNs by having users send a simple text message which authenticates by verification of up to seven factors.

Features:

    • World’s first omni-factor authentication (checks every factor)
    • Virtually unhackable; authenticates via simple SMS
    • Affordable and easy to install for any size business

Why it’s great:
Simple, strong, secure protection for your data, website and company. TextKey’s patent-pending technology is virtually unhackable because users text the key from their cell phone.  

Presenter:

Scott Goldman, Co-founder/CEO
Technologist, successful entrepreneur, author, consultant, globally-recognized speaker, and “Wireless Wizard”. Mileage-mad cyclist. Favorite hobby: Making dark chocolate disappear.
LinkedIn


VenovateLogo

Venovate’s Marketplace is an online platform that makes investing in and fundraising for private securities faster and more efficient.

Features:

    • Verification of investors and fundraisers
    • Thorough due diligence on investment opportunities
    • Back office for efficient execution of transactions

Why it’s great:
Venovate is the smarter alternative for investing and fundraising.  

Presenters:

Michael Raneri Chairman & CEO
Raneri has over 20 years of experience in executive positions with four leading online brokerage firms. Uniquely qualified to lead the next generation of financial industry innovation.
LinkedIn

Thomas Foley, Co-founder
Foley has been successful at several startups and in investment banking. Recognized for outstanding entrepreneurship in BusinessWeek’s 30 Under 30.
LinkedIn


Be sure to check back on Thursday of this week, when we’ll post a sneak peek of another six companies.

Finovate Alumni News– April 8, 2014

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgPYMNTS: Shopkeep POS undergoes latest revision and releases 2.0 version.
  • Jumio partners with Equifax to make mobile transactions more secure.
  • Leaf launches Payments Apps Marketplace.
  • Dallas Business Journal names defiSOLUTIONS CEO Stephanie Alsbrooks one of its 40 Under 40. See defiSOLUTIONS demo at FinovateSpring in San Jose.
  • Bloomberg column on apps for financial health features Level Money, Check, Mint, LearnVest, and Betterment.
  • Level Money earns spot on Entrepreneur.com’s “5 Must-Watch San Francisco Tech Startups in 2014”.
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.

UX Lessons for Card Issuers from the New Starbucks Mobile App

image When I moved to Seattle, Starbucks had just four locations. So I’ve had a ring-side seat in their climb to worldwide ubiquity. Though not a huge fan of their coffee, I greatly admire their business model, technology, and payments innovations.

I have been paying with the Starbucks mobile app for the past few months (note 1) as have 14% of its customers. It’s great as long as there is a queue. That gives you plenty of time to go through the 9-step mobile payments process (10 steps with tipping):

1. Dig out your phone
2. Enter the smartphone passcode (if applicable) 
3. Locate the app
4. Open it
5. Press pay
6. View balance to ensure there is enough cash available
    (not applicable if auto reload is enabled)
7. Wait for cashier to press the correct key on terminal
8. Position your phone under the QR reader
9. Wait for cashier to give you the OK
10. (Optional) Dig in your wallet/purse/pocket for tip money

While this process seems ridiculously time-consuming compared to a card swipe (or cash), if you are waiting in a queue (typical), you can take care of all that before your turn to order (especially if you already have your phone out and are logged in).

__________________________

The new Starbucks app
__________________________

image The latest version of the Starbucks mobile app (iOS released 20 March 2014) cuts two steps from the 10-step process. More importantly, the crucial “hit pay” (step #5 above) has been replaced by a shake of the smartphone to signal it to display the Starbucks QR code needed at the point of sale. While not a huge timesaver, it pretty much eliminates navigation within the app before payment, quite an improvement in UX once you get the hang of it (note 2).

The new app also offers electronic tipping, a welcome improvement for the staff, since the move to no-signature card-transactions many years ago took away credit-card tips.  

The app integrates four components into the homescreen (see screenshot #1 right):

A. Top navigation with choice of:
— Pay: Opens up QR code (in lieu of shaking) (see screen #2 below)
— Stores: Starbucks store locator with map and list
— Gift: Opens to virtual gift-card function with integration to iPhone contacts (see screen #3)

B. Loyalty program: A screen-dominating donut shows exactly where you stand on the path to the next loyalty level.

C. Messages: Links to a “feed” of available offers (screen #4) including:
— discounts
— free iTunes song and app downloads (with integration to iTunes for easy redemption) (screen #5)

D. Account history (see screen #6)
— purchases and reloads 
— tipping function allowed for two hours after purchase (screen #7)

__________________________

Lessons
__________________________

There are some lessons here for card issuers:

  • Focus: Go to Starbucks.com on your desktop browser, and you’ll see about 150 navigation choices delivered via mega-menus across six main tabs. It’s worse than most bank websites. However, the mobile app has just three primary navigation choices (Pay | Stores | Gift), plus rewards, messages and transactions on the main screen. Starbucks rightly chose to concentrate on exactly what customers need when they are on the go. 
  • Integrate rewards/loyalty: Despite the “shake to pay” process improvement, the Starbucks mobile payment experience is still cumbersome and by no means easier than paying by card. However, because the app is integrated with rewards, all of sudden it becomes compelling, both for early adopters (certainly) and the mass market (note 3). 
  • Annotate the transaction: Besides the new tipping function, the transaction history includes both a feed of the transactions (screen #6), plus the ability to click through to a full receipt (screen #7). While not super interesting at Starbucks, when so-called “level 3” data is available for more complex purchases, it becomes an important part of the value delivered. 
  • Mobile first: If you offer information or services consumed on the go, mobile services (app & website) are the key interaction point going forward. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz understands this (note 4). Does your CEO?

__________________________

Screenshots
__________________________

2. QR code (scanned at POS)             3. Virtual gift cards

image     image

4. Offer stream                                5. iTunes integration to redeem

image       image

 

6. Transaction history                &nb
sp;     7. Transaction detail with tipping

image        image

—————————–

Notes:
1. Previously, I was paying with Square Wallet since no reloading is required. But now I’m on the quest for Gold Status at Starbucks, so Square will have to take a backseat.    
2. Since users are not accustomed to shaking their phone to make it do something, it may take a while for everyone to figure out this shortcut. Luckily, the Pay button has been moved to a position of great prominence, for those that prefer to use the old navigation process.   
3. The Starbucks app is now on my wife’s iPhone. Besides the map, weather, Yelp, and French translations, it will be only the fifth app she uses frequently.
4. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is a genius and seems to genuinely care about his employees and the world. If he had only stayed out of pro sports ownership (go Sonics!), his record would be virtually untarnished.

Launching: 2,000 Bitcoin/Crypto-currency Startups

English: Looking north up Eleventh Avenue (Man...

Jacob K. Javits Center (Wikipedia)

The bitcoin logo

Bitcoin first passed the $200 mark a year ago (vs. $450 today). I didn’t know much about it then, figuring it was a fad best left to the speculators to debate. But I was wrong. Bitcoin, or something similar, appears to be here to stay.

Case in point: There is a 2,000-person Bitcoin event in NYC today and tomorrow, Inside Bitcoins, at the Javits Center no less. But don’t worry if you miss it, the event is scheduled to travel the globe with stops in Hong Kong, Melbourne, Tel Aviv, London, Singapore, Berlin, before landing back in NYC a year from now.

In the keynote, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire estimated 2,000 startups globally are working on crypto-currency products and services. That alone makes it more than a fad (bubble perhaps, but not a fad). There is no putting the crypto-currency genie back in the bottle. The technology is too compelling. The demand for alternative stored value is so huge that I don’t see it being regulated away, at least outside the west.

Relevance for Banks: U.S. financial institutions will steer clear until regulatory uncertainties are cleared up. While regulators ARE paying attention (even the IRS recently weighed in), don’t expect banks or credit unions here to be accepting Bitcoins for deposit anytime soon.

However, I do expect U.S. prepaid-card based “near banks” (Moven, Onbudget) to work with Coinbase and others to make it easy to move Bitcoin value onto their cards (see note 1). For inspiration, check out the Bitcoin debit card launched today by Hong Kong-based Cryptex Card (press release).

———————-

Notes:
1. Both Coinbase and Onbudget will demo separately at FinovateSpring, three weeks from now.       
2. For more, see our Feb 2014 OBR report on alt-payments, Money 3.0 (subscription).