Author: finovate

Alumni News — Weeks of November 28 and December 5, 2010

By finovate Posted on
Categories: Andera, Backbase, BancVue, Betterment, Capital Access Network, CashEdge, ClairMail, Expensify, FIS, GoalMine, Jemstep, Jwaala, Kasasa, Lending Club, Mint.com, Monitise, Mozo, PopMoney, SmartyPig, Tyfone, Wikinvest, Yodlee
PopMoney (from CashEdge) wins award for excellence in Web design from the Interactive Media Council. http://bit.ly/finovate11301
Speculation from MarketWatch: Could ClairMail be headed for an IPO? http://bit.ly/finovate11306
ClairMail and Cardlytics partner to provide transaction marketing opportunities. http://bit.ly/finovate1281 
Expensify continues to grow its currency support base — Expensify is now supporting 159 currencies. http://bit.ly/finovate1232
Robert Scoble uses Expensify for expense reports. http://scoble.it/finovate11305
FIS launches innovative new mobile banking product. — Users can establish mobile account management with their debit card, no online banking signup needed. http://bit.ly/finovate1291
GoalMine hosting cash contest via Facebook to spread the word. http://bit.ly/finovate1292
This week’s Jem 5 at Jemstep explores diversified fixed income funds. http://bit.ly/finovate1294
Generations FCU goes live with Jwaala’s “Better Online Banking.” http://bit.ly/finovate1237
Just for fun: Kasasa releases banks’ playlists. See this week’s from Jeff Davis Bank. http://bit.ly/finovate1236
Lending Club enjoyed a flurry of news coverage. Read the summaries  here: http://bit.ly/finovate1224 
Lending Club mentioned in PBS nightly business report. http://to.pbs.org/finovate1297
Mint.com now available in Canada. http://tcrn.ch/finovate1234
Congratulations to Mint founder, Aaron Patzer; winner of a TechFellow Award for General Management. http://tcrn.ch/finovate1296
Monitise to bring mobile payments to Nigeria. http://bit.ly/finovate1231
Mozo powering new “Compare, Ditch and Switch” campaign to allow Australians to shop around for better banking services.  http://bit.ly/finovate1283
Just in time for the Holidays, PopMoney gift cards at www.giftcardmall.com. 
The new SmartyPig rewards MasterCard provides up to 10% cash back at select retailers. http://bit.ly/finovate11303
Tyfone receives additional patent for electronic wallet technology. http://bit.ly/finovate11304
Wikinvest is even more mobile with Blackberry and Android Apps. http://bit.ly/finovate1235
Y Combinator and Yodlee cooperate to provide financial data services to startups. 

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FinovateEurope 2011 Demo Companies Revealed

By finovate Posted on
Categories: Finovate, FinovateEurope 2011
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After months of reviewing applications from leading fintech companies, we’re incredibly excited to reveal the firms selected to show off their latest and greatest technology innovations at the first FinovateEurope.

The companies are geographically diverse (coming across Europe, North America and Asia) as well as diverse in the areas that they’re innovating on (everything from online banking to security to marketing to online identity to ecommerce to investing to PFM).

On February 1st, 2011, the following companies (HQ locations in parentheses) will take the stage in London along with our guest host Chris Skinner:

If you’d like to attend the event and watch the future of European fintech debut on stage, you’ll be joining executives from organizations like Santander, Deutsche Bank, PayPal, Forrester, CIBC, TSYS, Microsoft, Accel Partners, Rabobank, ING, BBVA, Standard Chartered, PostFinance, Raiffeisenbank, Celent and many more.

Buying your ticket before December 22nd will get you the early registration ticket price (a £100 discount) and it will also ensure your attendance at the event. We had capacity crowds at the last two Finovate conferences and ticket sales are strong for this event as well. We hope to see you in February in London!

FinovateEurope 2011 is sponsored by: BlueRock Consulting, Microsoft, Santander & The Bancorp

FinovateEurope 2011 is partners with: 154 Consulting, BankerStuff, CardWeb, Banking Automation Bulletin, Finance on Windows, The Financial Services Innovation Centre, PYMNTS.com & theStartup.eu.

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FinovateEurope 2011 Demo Companies Revealed

By finovate Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2011
FinovateEurope-date-web.gif

After months of reviewing applications from leading fintech companies, we’re incredibly excited to reveal the firms selected to show off their latest and greatest technology innovations at the first FinovateEurope.

The companies are geographically diverse (coming across Europe, North America and Asia) as well as diverse in the areas that they’re innovating on (everything from online banking to security to marketing to online identity to ecommerce to investing to PFM).

On February 1st, 2011, the following companies (HQ locations in parentheses) will take the stage in London along with our guest host Chris Skinner:

If you’d like to attend the event and watch the future of European fintech debut on stage, you’ll be joining executives from organizations like Santander, Deutsche Bank, PayPal, Forrester, CIBC, TSYS, Microsoft, Accel Partners, Rabobank, ING, BBVA, Standard Chartered, PostFinance, Raiffeisenbank, Celent and many more.

Buying your ticket before December 22nd will get you the early registration ticket price (a £100 discount) and it will also ensure your attendance at the event. We had capacity crowds at the last two Finovate conferences and ticket sales are strong for this event as well. We hope to see you in February in London!

FinovateEurope 2011 is sponsored by: BlueRock Consulting, Microsoft, Santander & The Bancorp

FinovateEurope 2011 is partners with: 154 Consulting, BankerStuff, CardWeb, Banking Automation Bulletin, Finance on Windows, The Financial Services Innovation Centre, PYMNTS.com & theStartup.eu

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GoalMine Launches Gift-Card-Based Social Savings Program

By finovate Posted on
Categories: GoalMine

goalminelogo.jpg

MPower Labs on Nov. 11 launched GoalMine to the public after several months in private Beta. 
GoalMine is an online savings and investment tool which allows users to buy, use or give gift cards towards savings goals. The gift card can be easily invested into stock mutual funds, bond mutual funds, or FDIC-insured savings accounts, without the high minimum balances that most mutual funds require. GoalMine accounts can be opened with as little as $25 and have relatively low fees compared to many investment options.  
The company aims to make saving towards goals simple and fun. GoalMine employs familiar methods, such as gift cards and social media, to find prospective customers and to help those customers reach out to their family and friends who may help them reach their savings goals. 
Users can share their goals via Facebook or Twitter, and add photos from Flickr or Picasa, and link YouTube video to share their progress or goals. The platform can also be used for fundraising. 
It takes just a few minutes to establish a GoalMine account. Users must provide their name, address, and Social Security Number, and be U.S. citizens over 18 years old. I was able to establish four accounts with different savings goals, timelines and investments in seven minutes. 
The account has an easy wizard, which helps in deciding which account is best, and further offers help in calculating the savings goal, including statistics about what the goal may cost. It also prompts you to set your goal either by when you want to achieve it  or how much you can save per month. the wizards are easy to skip  if you prefer not to use them. 
 
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Unlike other saving programs, I wasn’t required  to make an initial deposit  at time of opening, nor did I have to establish a monthly automatic funds transfer.  
I can fund the accounts by monthly transfer, by ACH deposit from a linked bank account (not required) or by depositing GoalPack gift cards.  (I’m putting these on my daughter’s birthday list now for that college fund.)
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I established a college savings goal, and then “liked” it on Facebook, where it posted to my wall so that others could visit the goal. From there, others have an opportunity to purchase GoalPacks towards that goal. There is a fulfillment fee for the GoalPacks of $2.95 each for less than $100 or $3.95 per $100 for larger amounts. The online withdrawal process is simple and costs $1 each time. Electronic transfers to a bank account are made the same day. Check withdrawals take a little longer, arriving in seven to ten days. 
About the accounts
Savings: The savings account are offered through The Bancorp Bank of Wilmington, DE and  are FDIC-insured to $250,000. Currently the account earns 0.30% APY.  
Bond mutual fund: The bond mutual fund, GoalMine Fixed Income Fund (Ticker: GRFIX), is managed by Gratio Capital.  The minimum investment is $25, and expense ratios range from 1.15% to 1.4%. There is a 2% early redemption fee  for funds taken out within 180 days of deposit. (Prospectus link)
Stock mutual fund: The stock mutual fund, Gratio Values Fund (Ticker: GRVLX), is also managed by Gratio Capital. The minimum investment is $25 and the expense ratio is 1.4%. There is a 2% early redemption fee for funds taken out within 180 days of deposit. (Prospectus link)

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Only Four Days Left to Save £200 on Your FinovateEurope 2011 Tickets

By finovate Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2011
FinovateEurope-date-web.gif

In early December, we’ll be announcing the 36 innovative financial technology companies that have been selected to demo at our first FinovateEurope (February 1 in London).

As we make our final selections from a very competitive application process, I can tell you that the conference is going to showcase an incredible roster of fintech companies from across Europe, Asia and North America. The companies will demo live (since no slides are allowed at Finovate) their latest and greatest in areas like internet banking, security, PFM, online identity, virtual currencies, tablet user interfaces, mobile payments, p2p lending and more.

If you’d like to attend the event and watch the future of European fintech debut on stage, you’ll be joining executives from organizations like Santander, Deutsche Bank, PayPal, Forrester, CIBC, TSYS, Microsoft, Accel Partners, ING, BBVA, Standard Chartered, PostFinance, Raiffeisenbank, Celent and many more.

Buying your ticket before the end of this Friday (November 26th) will get you the very-early registration ticket price (a £200 discount) and it will also ensure your attendance at the event. We had capacity crowds at the last two Finovate conferences and ticket sales are strong for this event as well. Hope to see you in February in London!

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Eric Mattson is CEO of Online Financial Innovations, the parent company of NetBanker, Online Banking Report and the Finovate Conference Series. He can be reached at eric@netbanker.com.

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Weekly Updates — Week of November 15, 2010

By finovate Posted on
Categories: Backbase, Billeo, BillFloat, Blippy, BrightScope, Credit Sesame, eRollover, GoalMine, Ixaris, Kasasa, Monitise, Monitise Americas, Mozo, PayNearMe, SmartyPig, Tempo Payments, Wikinvest

To see Finovate news updates in real-time, follow our feed on Twitter. 

Backbase is launching its fall webinar series. — The first 25 signups get a copy of Brett King’s new book “Bank 2.0.” http://bit.ly/finovate11193
Billeo is powering the new American Express inSite service. — Amex users get rewards and bonuses from within their browser. http://bit.ly/finovate11162
BillFloat shines at the “Under the Radar Conference.” — The company won the “Judges’ Choice” and “Audience Choice” awards in the Commerce category.  http://bit.ly/finovate11163
Blippy lets users “fancify” their profiles. http://bit.ly/finovate11154
Data is king at BrightScope. — See the  O’Riley Radar article which includes a five-minute video on how the startup gathered 401k plan info from the Department of Labor  http://oreil.ly/finovate11192

Credit Sesame launches. — Public Beta is open to everyone. http://bit.ly/finovate11171 Excellent info-graphic about consumer debt in America http://bit.ly/finovate11182
eRollover announces new website. — The new site is designed to be easier to navigate and better show analytic tools. http://bit.ly/finovate11153
GoalMine launches with $25 reward to users who establish a $25 per month investment plan. — The program not only encourages ongoing investment, but highlights the convenience of the company’s online GoalPack gift card system. http://bit.ly/finovate11152
Ixaris launches Secret Path Developer Challenge. — Secret Path rewards developers who build payment applications on Ixaris Opn for social media networks, mobile devices and ecommerce. http://bit.ly/finovate11172
Kasasa Poetry Challenge. — Poets can win cash prizes, and have their work used in a Kasasa commercial. http://bit.ly/finovate11194
Monitise and US Bank work together for contactless payments solution. http://bit.ly/finovate11173
Mozo wins Deloitte’s Rising Star award. — The award is for companies in operation for fewer than three years. http://bit.ly/finovate11191
PayNearMe garners $16 million in venture capital. — Khosla Ventures led the funding round. The company will also be launching a mobile payments application. http://bit.ly/finovate11161 
SmartyPig adds 21 new “Best in Class Retailers” just in time for holiday shopping. — Retail partners boost users’ savings by up to 14% when the savings goal is withdrawn via their gift card. http://bit.ly/finovate11155
Tempo Payments powers reward card for Sheetz convenience stores. — The decoupled affinity debit cards are independently-branded rewards debit cards, which link to the customer’s checking account. http://bit.ly/finovate11151
Wikinvest launches Android and Blackberry apps which allow users to view their accounts regardless of brokerage. http://tcrn.ch/finovate11181

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Weekly Updates — Week of November 8, 2010

By finovate Posted on
Categories: Bling Nation, Dynamics, eRollover, Jemstep, Jwaala, Rudder.com, Silver Tail Systems

Here’s the news from the Week of November 8, 2010. To see our updates real-time, follow us on Twitter.

Bling Nation partners with the southern USA’s largest grocery chain, Brookshire Grocery. — Bling Nation users can now pay, redeem and earn rewards with their mobile device at Brookshire and Super 1 stores. http://bit.ly/finovate11121
Donate to charity with SwipeGood and Blippy. — Purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar and the difference is donated to the charity of your choice. http://bit.ly/finovate1185
Card 2.0 from Dynamics wins “Best in Show.”  — The high-tech credit card was named the best innovation in personal electronics in a pre-show contest sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). http://bit.ly/finovate11101
See how eRollover makes rolling over a 401k simple . http://bit.ly/finovate1192
Jemstep announces the Jem 5. — Each week Jemstep will list its top 5 mutual funds. http://bit.ly/finovate1182
Michican First Credit Union adds Jwaala online banking services. — Michigan First has 80,000 members and $550 million in assets and was founded in 1926.  http://bit.ly/finovate1193
Jwaala partners with iPay to provide bill-pay solutions. http://bit.ly/finovate1102
Rudder.com shut down its online PFM service on Nov 3.  http://bit.ly/finovate1183. — A conversion guide is available to those who wish to move to MoneyStrands. http://bit.ly/finovate1184
See Silver Tail’s  “federation service” in action. http://bit.ly/finovate1181
Silver Tail  Systems won a contract to provide behavior analytics to US Government websites. http://bit.ly/finovate1191
 

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Weekly Updates — Weeks of Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, 2010

By finovate Posted on
Categories: Bill.com, Bling Nation, Blippy, CashEdge, Continuity Control, Credit Karma, Dynamics, Expensify, Finsphere, Ixaris, Kabbage, Lending Club, Mint.com, Outright.com, SafetyPay, The Receivables Exchange
From PayPal X Conference: Bill.com uses PayPal business payments to transform how businesses get paid. http://bit.ly/finovate10273 and gets a makeover. http://bit.ly/finovate10255
From PayPal X Conference: Bling Nation launches “FanConnect” platform. FanConnect helps consumers and businesses to connect at checkout via social media platforms like Facebook. http://bit.ly/finovate10272
Blippy and Sephora work together to spread the word about cosmetic products via Twitter. See TechCrunch’s story. http://tcrn.ch/finovate10271
Continuity Control and uMonitor partner for compliance automation. http://bit.ly/finovate11334
Dynamics Inc. is profiled in “the future of credit cards” in the New York Times. http://j.mp/finovate102510
From PayPal X Conference: Expensify announces support for expense reimbursement via PayPal. See a demonstration: http://bit.ly/finovate1142.
How Finsphere is helping to prevent identity theft with geo-location and mobile check-ins. http://rww.to/finovate10281
Ixaris partners with Apigee to create payment application development API platform.  — The new platform will be named Ixaris Opn (pronounced “open”). http://bit.ly/finovate1121
From PayPal X Conference: More on Kabbage’s service to provide working capital for eBay Sellers. http://bit.ly/finovate10276
Lending Club welcomes North Carolina and Kansas. Peer-to-peer personal loans are now available in 42 states. http://bit.ly/finovate1141
Mint.com launches MintData to delve into the spending habits of Mint’s 4 million users. The data is anonymous and provides insight into the pocketbooks of customers in 300 U.S. cities. http://tcrn.ch/finovate1122
From PayPal X Conference: Outright.com launches free accounting app in PayPal apps marketplace. http://bit.ly/finovate10274
Citi takes CashEdge’s Popmoney Service live. FinVentures breaks it down. http://bit.ly/finovate1123
The Receivables Exchange Co-Founder and CEO Justin Brownhill was named one of  Silicon Alley Insider’s “Silicon Alley 100.” The list covers New York’s “Coolest Tech People in 2010.” http://bit.ly/finovate11335
SafetyPay pioneers new ways to provide micropayments in the gaming industry. http://bit.ly/finovate10277

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FinovateFall 2010 Demo Videos Now Available

By finovate Posted on
Categories: ActivePath, Backbase, Betterment, billFLO, BillFloat, BillShrink, Blaze Mobile, Bling Nation, Bundle, Capital Access Network, ClairMail, Credit Sesame, Dynamics, Emue Technologies, FinovateFall 2010, Finsphere, FIS, Fiserv, Geezeo, Guardian Analytics, Hidden Levers, Ixaris, Jack Henry, Kapitall, Kashoo, Kiboo, Kony Solutions, Leadfusion, MatchFund, mFoundry, Micronotes, Mortgagebot, mShift, oFlows, Optirate, Outright.com, Pageonce, PayNearMe, Plantly, Plastyc, PopMoney, Receivables Exchange, SapientNitro, SecondMarket, SecureKey, Segmint, Silver Tail Systems, SmartyPig, Standard Chartered Bank, The Receivables Exchange, Thwakk, TouMetis, Unience, Wonga, Worklight, Yodlee

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We’re pleased to announce that the demo videos from FinovateFall 2010 are now available for free download (or immediate consumption) from the Finovate archives.

This fall’s NYC conference showcased 56 handpicked companies doing 7-minute demonstrations (no slides allowed) of their latest technology innovations to a sold-out audience of 650 financial & banking executives, venture capitalists, press, analysts and entrepreneurs.

Check out these cutting-edge ideas in financial, banking, payments, mobile, lending, investing and security technologies today for inspiration and your next edge on the competition! 

(P.S. If you’re interested in joining us at the next Finovate event, tickets are now on sale for FinovateEurope (Feb, 1, 2011 in London). It is going to be an amazing showcase of European and global fintech innovation!)

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Eric Mattson is CEO of Online Financial Innovations, the parent company of NetBanker, Online Banking Report and the Finovate Conference Series. He can be reached at eric@netbanker.com.

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