Author: Jim Bruene

Mobile is Eating Banking

Mobile is Eating Banking
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

cellphone_vintage2Andreessen Horowitz’s Benedict Evans penned a compelling argument a few days ago about how the “mobile internet” is now the primary market to build services for. There are a couple good charts in the post, too, if you bring top management quickly up to speed:

Mobile is not a subset of the internet anymore, that you use only if you’re waiting for a coffee or don’t have a PC in front of you—it’s becoming the main way that people use the internet. It’s not mobile that’s limited to a certain set of locations and use cases, it’s the PC, that can only do the web and only be used sitting down. It’s time to invert that mental model; there is not the ‘mobile internet’ and the internet. Rather, if anything, it’s the internet and the ‘desktop internet.’

In banking, I think it’s even more true. The location-awareness of the mobile platform is crucial to boosting security while improving UX at the same time (think: no-login balance inquiry). The mobile camera is finally reducing (eliminating?) paper, both paper checks, statements and even, finally, receipts. Then there’s that little thing that Apple, Google, Starbucks and others would have us believe is better than sliced bread, integrated mobile payments.

If you were forced to choose a single consumer delivery platform going forward, be it branch, online/desktop, or mobile, clearly it should be mobile. Are your strategic plans in sync with this reality?

———-
Image: Cellphone inventor Martin Cooper on a DynaTac, the first commercial cellphone introduced in 1983 (Source: CNN)

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Fintech Fundings: 18 Companies Raise $160 Million Week Ending 4 Sep 2015

Fintech Fundings: 18 Companies Raise $160 Million Week Ending 4 Sep 2015
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money_123rfAfter a slow start, fundings picked up and finished the week at $160 million raised by 18 fintech companies. That compares to the blistering (and unsustainable) weekly pace of 20 fundings and $575 million in August. Last year during the first week of September 2o companies raised $275 million.

Last week’s total disclosed amount raised was $158.3 million, of which $17 million was known to be debt. Three companies did not disclose funding amounts.

——-

Unicorn hunting
I completely agree that the term “unicorn” is overused, but it’s still an easy way to communicate an important valuation hurdle. Last week, The New York Times published an article, sourced from CB Insights, predicting the next 50 unicorns. It comes as no surprise that eight (17%) were fintech companies, including four Finovate alums (Betterment, Coinbase, Wealthfront, ZenPayroll) and four others (Avant, Collective Health, Raise, and Zuora). We’ll update our near-unicorn list (published 22 July) to include ZenPayroll, Collective Health and Raise.

——–

Here are the fundings from 29 Aug to 4 Sep 2015 by size:

Prospa
Australian alt-lender to small businesses
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Latest round: $60 million Series B
Total raised: $60+ million
Tags: Lending, loans, commercial, underwriting, online, SMB
Source: Crunchbase

Shift Payments
Debit card with universal currency access
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $50 million
Total raised: $50.1 million
Tags: Payments, digital currency, loyalty points, prepaid cards, debit, Y Combinator, Dwolla (partner)
Source: FT Partners

Remitly
Mobile remittance service
HQ: Seattle, Washington
Latest round: $12 million Debt
Total raised: $35 million ($23 million equity; $12 million debt)
Tags: Payments, remittances, P2P payments, mobile, Silicone Valley Bank (lender)
Source: GeekWire

InVenture
Mobile loan underwriting for the unbanked
HQ: Santa Monica, California
Latest round: $10 million
Total raised: $11.2 million
Tags: Lending, credit, consumer, loans, underwriting, unbanked, underbanked
Source: FT Partners

QuanTemplate
Data analytics for the insurance industry
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: $8.0 million
Total raised: $8.0 million
Tags: Insurance, reinsurance, analytics, big data, BI
Source: FT Partners

Electronic Payments
Payment processing
HQ: Calverton, New York
Latest round: $5 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Payments, acquiring, cards, POS, point-of-sale
Source: FT Partners

Quovo
Portfolio analytics and management tools
HQ: New York City, New York
Latest round: $4.8 million
Total raised: $6.2 million
Tags: Investing, trading, wealth management, analytics
Source: FT Partners

Questis
Financial coaching as an employee benefit
HQ: Charleston, South Carolina
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $2 million
Tags: Personal financial management, advice, PFM, retirement planning, employee benefits, insurance
Source: WhoGotFunded

Bux
Easy mobile trading for consumers
HQ: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Latest round: $1.9 million
Total raised: $1.9 million
Tags: Investing, gamification, stocks, share trading, mobile, Ayondo (partner)
Source: Crunchbase

MoneyBrilliant
Money management geared towards women
HQ: Darlinghurst, Australia
Latest round: $1.5 million
Total raised: $1.5 million
Tags: Consumer, PFM, personal, financial management, budgeting
Source: Crunchbase

Paymium
Bitcoin exchange
HQ: Paris, France
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $1.1 million
Tags: Payments, cryptocurrency,
Source: WhoGotFunded

FattMerchant
Payment processor
HQ: Orlando, Florida
Latest round: $850,000
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Acquiring, SMB, merchants, cards
Source: WhoGotFunded

Mobetize
Mobile wallet and point-of-sale
HQ: Reno, Nevada
Latest round: $750,000
Total raised: $2.1 million
Tags: Payments, mobile, mPOS, merchants, wallet, SMB, consumer
Source: FT Partners

Xendit
Mobile wallet
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $285,000
Total raised: $400,000
Tags: Payments, remittances, funds transfer, P2P payments, Y Combinator
Source: WhoGotFunded

Wirate
Equity crowdfunding platform
HQ: France
Latest round: $110,000
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Investing, P2P, person-to-person, marketplace
Source: WhoGotFunded

Kash
ACH at the point-of-sale
HQ: Waterloo, Canada
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: $2+ million
Tags: Payments, API, merchants, mobile, SMB, acquiring, ACH, developers
Source: FT Partners

Platform Black
P2P invoice and supply chain finance
HQ: Basingstoke, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: SMB, financing, credit, factoring, accounts receivables, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer
Source: InsiderMedia

Verifacto
Connecting auto dealers, lenders, insurers and consumers
HQ: Norcross, Georgia
Latest round: Undisclosed Series A
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Indirect lending, automobiles, car dealers, installment loans, insurance
Source: FT Partners

——
Graphic licensed from 123rf.com

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US Bank Adds “Thank a Banker” to Homepage

US Bank Adds “Thank a Banker” to Homepage
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Holiday promotions, Loans & Credit, Service, US Bank, Website Usability & Design

usbank_thankabanker_boxUS Bank has been on a roll lately, appearing in our blog more times this summer than in the previous three years. Its latest novelty? A unique “thank a banker” function, complete with smiley face emoji, prominently located at the bottom-middle of homepage (below the fold on my 13-inch laptop). It’s shown to both customers and non-customers.

I wasn’t sure what to make of it. While I don’t see the harm, it would seem to be a fairly low-usage feature to warrant homepage real estate. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It’s great brand positioning, essentially saying, ‘Hey, look. we aren’t one of those impersonal banks. Our customers love us so much we have to put a box on our homepage to collect all the compliments.’

And then if anyone actually does use it, the bank gets a stream of attaboy/girls to send out to staff. Clever. Hopefully, the bank sends the customer a nice thank-you email (I hadn’t received one 30 minutes after submitting form).

The website function is outsourced to an employee-recognition specialist, OC Tanner. An ewardcenter.com URL is displayed to US Bank customers as they fill out the 13-field form, a hefty 9 of which are required fields (see second screenshot below).

—–

More importantly, I like the Labor Day loan sale at the top of the US Bank homepage (see below). It’s traditionally a big car-buying weekend, so it’s a great time to promote vehicle lending, especially with the still ridiculously low APRs available here.

—–

US Bank homepage (3 Sep 2015, 10:00 a.m. Pacific):

usbank_home_0915

US Bank “thank-a-banker” form (link):

usbank_thankabanker

 

 

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Features: Capital One to Add Receipt Capture to Mobile App

Features: Capital One to Add Receipt Capture to Mobile App
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Capital One, Credit/Debit Cards, Mobile Banking

capitalone_reciept_capture

Capital One sent an email (see below) to customers two days ago promoting a new version of its Wallet mobile app. Although it’s not mentioned in the email copy, when you click “Get Started” the resulting webpage (see above) reveals that the bank is about to add receipt-capture to its app.

Normally, I’d save this news for a Feature Friday post. But I’m so excited to finally have integrated receipt capture on one of my cards, I just had to hit publish. Of course, it’s “coming soon” so I can’t give you any insight into how it works, or if there is an OCR component. But the website copy does mention some level of integration, just not whether it’s automatic (OCR) or manual:

Simply snap a photo to connect a receipt with a charge in the app.

American Express offers this capability, Chase on its Ink small-biz app, as well as Expensify and a few other fintech startups. But Capital One is the first big Visa/MasterCard consumer issuer (that I know of) with the feature. I’ll let you know how it works.

—–

Capital One email announcing the remodeled native Wallet app (31 Aug 2015):

capone_email_redesigned_app

 

—–

Update (3 Sep 2015): I omitted the Chase Ink card in the original post.

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Design: Creating Online Awareness of Digital Banking

Design: Creating Online Awareness of Digital Banking
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: BB&T Bank, US Bank, Website Usability & Design

design_iconThere is only one reason I visit a bank’s website: to learn about its online and/or mobile banking features. Granted, understanding digital banking is my livelihood. But normal people looking for a new checking account, credit card or loan also need to understand digital capabilities. Even for those that need the comfort of knowing there’s a branch nearby, online/mobile is still a key attribute for the vast majority of consumers, and businesses, shopping for banks.

So I don’t understand why digital features are often relegated to a sub-menu buried in the Personal Banking section. Of the 10 largest U.S. retail banks, only two, US Bank and BB&T, feature online banking in high-level navigation. This is little changed from our mid-2013 overview.

My favorite among the mega-banks (again) is US Bank, which highlights digital on the upper left and uses both “online” and “mobile” in the navigation tab:

usbank_home


BB&T’s placement also works with “Online Services” on the far right of the top line. While that naming is okay, it would be better to see “mobile” mentioned. So, I’d recommend changing it to “Online & Mobile,” which is the same number of characters.

bbt_home
Plenty of smaller banks and credit unions are already showcasing their digital features. For example, San Diego County Credit Union uses “Online & Mobile Banking” along its top navigation.

sandiegocu_home

—-
Image licensed from 123rf.com

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Mobile Monday: Engaging Prospective New Customers

Mobile Monday: Engaging Prospective New Customers
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Mobile Banking, Sales Techniques, Website Usability & Design

mobile_phone_lineupHow important are mobile users to your sales efforts? 76% of Facebook’s ad revenue is from mobile (and it was considered by many to be a mobile laggard a few years ago).

Prospective customers are already visiting your website from their smartphones in massive numbers. Are you making a good first impression? Does the UI work across key devices? And more importantly, is there an easy-to-find path to mobile purchase?

This afternoon, I visited 20 leading banking and personal finance sites (as a proxy for popularity, I used the 20 most downloaded free finance apps in the U.S. Apple App Store, see list in footnote). And it was like a trip back in time before (desktop) websites had adopted browser-design standards. By the numbers:

  • Excellent: 19 of the 20 had mobile-optimized sites (Laggard = Navy Federal Credit Union)
  • Satisfactory: 14 of 18 had a visible link for login (2 required a native app to login)
  • Needs work: 11 of 20 had a visible link to download the native app (including the 3 below)
  • Needs work: Only 3 of 20 used an initial “pop-up” screen that prompted download of the app, then the user needed to find a link to the non-app site
  • Needs work: 12 of 20 made a visible attempt to sell something
  • Fail: 6 of the 20 made a pretty marginal first impression, including several of the biggest financial institutions in the U.S. and the world: American Express, Chase, Citibank, Mint, PNC, Wells Fargo

My favorites (from this sample of 20, see footnote):

Bank: US Bank
Nice, engaging layout with clear path to more info, but missing a link to download the app

usbank_msite

Runner-up: TD Bank
Easy-to-find customer service, login, location, but missing app-link

tdbank_msite

Favorite non-bank: Credit Karma
Good branding, clear get-started button, but no link to native app

credit_karma_msite

Least favorite FI: American Express (lots of competition for this one)
Too much emphasis on logging in, easy-to-miss card-finder at bottom

amex_msite

Least favorite non-FI: Mint
Straightforward app link, but needs to better engage new user before offering the two choices; not very graphically interesting

mint_msite

——–

Top 20 apps (in order at U.S. App Store, 5PM Pacific 31 Aug 2015): Chase, BofA, Wells Fargo, PayPal, Capital One, Venmo, Credit Karma, Square, Mint, Acorns, GEICO, Citibank, Discover, American Express, USAA, Progressive, US Bank, Navy Federal, TD Bank, PNC Bank

#RockChalk (for Karl, Joe and Mary)

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Fintech Fundings: 15 Companies Raise $150 Million Week Ending August 28

Fintech Fundings: 15 Companies Raise $150 Million Week Ending August 28
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

money_stackDundings cooled down a bit over the record-setting pace of early August. But 15 companies still raised almost $150 million ($146.6 million including $2.5 million in debt) this week.

It was an especially lucrative week at the checkout counter in Europe as its two leading mPOS providers, iZettle ($67 million) and SumUp ($11.3 million), raised big rounds.

Three Finovate alums received large checks this week:

  1. FutureAdvisor, one of the early robo-advisers which had raised $24 million, was acquired by Blackrock for an undisclosed sum
  2. SumUp, the London mPOS provider, raised $11.3 million
  3. Socure, a social biometrics provider and FinovateFall 2015 presenter, raised $2.5 million in venture debt

August fundings ended up totaling $2.3 billion, almost a 6x increase over $410 million raised in August 2014. YTD, the fintech sector has raised $12 billion.

Here are the deals by size from 22 August through 28 August 2015:

iZettle
Mobile point-of-sale solution
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Latest round: $67 million Series D
Total raised: $181 million
Tags: Payments, mobile, point-of-sale, acquiring, merchants, SMB, hardware, mPOS
Source: Crunchbase

Freee
Automated online accounting
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Latest round: $30 million Series C
Total raised: $47.2 million
Tags: SMB, small business, enterprise, accounts receivable/payable, payments, metrics
Source: Crunchbase

Nok Nok Labs
Authentication solutions
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Latest round: $16.3 million
Total raised: $47.8 million
Tags: Payments, security, ID verification
Source: FT Partners

SumUp
Mobile point of sale system
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: $11.3 million Series D
Total raised: $44.3 million
Tags: Payments, mobile, point-of-sale, acquiring, merchants, SMB, hardware, mPOS (investor), American Express (investor), Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Able Lending
Debt crowdfunding platform for small businesses
HQ: Austin, Texas
Latest round: $6 million Series B
Total raised: $12.5 million
Tags: Lending, credit, underwriting, SMB, investing, loans
Source: Crunchbase

SelfWealth
Online tools for self-directed investors
HQ: Surrey Hills, Australia
Latest round: $4.3 million
Total raised: $4.3 million
Tags: Investing, wealth management, advisers
Source: Crunchbase

Socure
Social biometrics
HQ: New York City, New York
Latest round: $2.5 million Debt
Total raised: $7.2 million ($4.7 million equity, $2.5 million debt)
Tags: Security, SaaS, authentication, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

MagicCube
Mobile transaction security
HQ: Sunnyvale, California
Latest round: $2.2 million Seed
Total raised: $2.2 million
Tags: Security, fraud, mobile, payments
Source: Crunchbase

PredictSpring
Ecommerce gateway
HQ: Los Altos, California
Latest round: $2.0 million
Total raised: $2.85 million
Tags: Payments, mobile, social media
Source: FT Partners

Chronicled
Blockchain-based system to prove ownership
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $1.4 million
Total raised: $1.4 million
Tags: Blockchain, assets, authentication, ID verification
Source: Crunchbase

TopCheck
Financial services price comparisons in Africa
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $1.3 million
Tags: Lead generation, insurance, automobile
Source: Crunchbase

Angels Den
Equity crowdfunding
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $1 million
Tags: Investing, P2P, equity, SMB, seed investing
Source: Crunchbase

ChartMogul
Payment analytics for small businesses
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Latest round: $900,000
Total raised: $1.5 million
Tags: Analytics, card processing, SMB
Source: Crunchbase

Crowdhouse.ch
Real estate crowdfunding platform for Switzerland
HQ: California
Latest round: $320,000 Seed
Total raised: $640,000
Tags: P2P, lending, mortgage, loans, peer-to-peer
Source: Crunchbase

Prepaid Online Systems (aka CashPinSafe)
Ecommerce payments
HQ: Kennesaw, Georgia
Latest round: $20,000 Angel
Total raised: $20,000
Tags: Payments, ecommerce, prepaid, cards
Source: Crunchbase

—-
Image licensed from 123rf.com

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What Do We Call PFM as it Becomes Part of Digital Banking?

What Do We Call PFM as it Becomes Part of Digital Banking?
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Personal Financial Management

mx_pfm_dead

The term PFM has gotten a bad rap. Clearly, Personal Financial Management is not a consumer-friendly term. You can’t use an acronym unless it’s ingrained in society (IRS, FBI, etc.). And stringing together three 3-syllable words to spell it out is too cumbersome (and doesn’t fit on a smartphone menu anyway).

So what do we call this thing formerly known as PFM? Today, I saw “money manager” used at America First Credit Union (an MX client). That’s a 56% reduction in syllables, but I fear it, and its longer sibling, digital money management, are still too generic to be meaningful for consumers. When you think about it, every single time you log in to your bank you are doing some type of “money management,” so that term doesn’t really call to mind the advanced feature set we in the industry have called PFM.

The best approach may be to simply not give it a name. PFM is really just additional features integrated into online or mobile banking. As those features become fully integrated, and relatively common, they become harder to single out with a unique term.

So here’s where I net out. Just between you and me, let’s keep calling it PFM within the industry (on our blog alone we’ve mentioned it in almost 500 posts). But when talking to consumers, let’s not create another confusing term. Especially since personal financial or money management is already an assumed benefit of digital banking.

Then, when looking to create more interest, use the classic marketing terms attached to “online” or “mobile” banking, for example:

  • Advanced online banking
  • Enhanced mobile banking
  • Do more with online banking
  • New-and-improved mobile banking
  • Features added to online banking
  • v2.0 mobile banking
  • Manage your money better with mobile banking

amex_cardsThat still leaves the problem of what to call it on a menu, or in a tab, if you offer a stand-alone service. Outside of banking, I think the most common term today is Advanced as in Google’s Advanced Search. Or, if you are potentially going to charge a fee, Pro is commonly used. If that seems too specific, it could be Premium or Select. Even the old credit card standbys, Gold, Platinum or Black, could be used.

Bottom line: FIs should use descriptions that fit with their other branding. Here, we are going to stick with PFM, with the understanding that the term should not be used on your website.

——-

Opening graphic is from MX on the cover of its white paper on Digital Money Management.

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Tuesday Tactics: Creating an Interconnected Family Bank Account

Tuesday Tactics: Creating an Interconnected Family Bank Account
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs, FamZoo, Yodlee, Youth market

Yodlee_tandem_positioningA major consequence of ubiquitous digital banking will be a long-term improvement in customer retention, at least for the “primary” bank/checking account. Digital natives will perceive little need to change banks as they move from home to college and then to multiple jobs. Assuming you keep them satisfied and connected to family members, today’s 15-year old might stick with their primary bank or credit union for seven or more decades.

But you can’t retain a customer who never opens an account.

That’s why I believe FIs should do their best to get an account started for every child in every customer household, probably bundling them into a “family wrap account” which could carry a premium fee (though the individual kids’ accounts should probably come at no additional fee).

And the family account needs to be fully connected and in sync with the parents, guardians, and other current and potential family members. That enables real-time money movement along with expense tracking. And yodlee_tandem_streamas children grow into adulthood, the accounts should be able to be easily be converted into their own family account, and the cycle can be repeated with their kids.

Building it

We’ve seen a number of youth-oriented platforms at Finovate, but they have rarely focused on inter-connectivity and communications. Two exceptions are Yodlee’s Tandem app (inset) which debuted at FinovateSpring 2013 and FamZoo, which demoed its new platform the same year. Watch their demos and be inspired (Yodlee, FamZoo).

For more info on the mobile side, see yesterday’s post.

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Mobile Monday: Fintech Through the Ages

Mobile Monday: Fintech Through the Ages
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Mobile Banking, Personal Financial Management, Youth market

social_media_by_age
There’s a big, missing piece with today’s money management (aka PFM) offerings:

Age appropriateness

What I mean is that most FIs offer a one-size-fits-all mobile app and that just won’t cut it going forward. As capone360_teen_checkingdevelopment costs drop (see Building it Out, below), it will be easier to cost-justify tightly segmented apps. One of the better examples (from the desktop), is CapitalOne 360’s Teen Money a program it inherited from ING Direct (which launched it exactly four years ago with a $10 million ad campaign).

How will this multi-app trend manifest itself? One of the more likely initial phases will be segmenting by life stage. For example, here’s a common example of 10 stages, along with key money-management issues along the way:

  • Pre-teen: learning, saving, chore management, light spending
  • Teen: learning, saving, college planning, spending
  • College: learning, spending, expense sharing with roommates/parents, automobile
  • Singles: spending, renting, insurance, expense sharing with roommates, investing/401(k), saving, credit
  • Young marrieds: mortgage, insurance, expense sharing with spouse, investing, saving for home
  • Family with little ones: insurance, spending controls/budgeting, investing, tuition, home equity
  • Family with teens: spending/budgeting, investing, saving for college, sharing expenses with kids, retirement planning
  • Empty nest: retirement planning, asset management, investing
  • Active retirees: asset management, estate planning
  • Homebound seniors: sharing control with kids, health insurance management, estate planning

All of those segments will likely have their own app or at least a way to easily customize a general app in a way that syncs with their needs without the clutter typical of many banking websites (though they are getting much better as building for mobile (responsive design), demands prioritizing features/content.

Building it out

Given the 6, 7 and even 8-figure costs of major mobile initiatives, building 10 apps may seem ridiculously expensive. And it would be if it weren’t for cost savings enabled by third-party and SaaS services fed through APIs, a subject we touched on recently in a post about the coming Golden Age of Fintech APIs.

If you are willing to forgo branding, you could provide age-appropriate apps for virtually no cost. For example, some smaller banks gladly refer their customers to Mint for budgeting/money management help or Credit Karma for credit management. It’s not a bad strategy. Sure, they’ll see targeted financial advertising, but that’s not going to matter if you provide a valuable service.

But we expect most banks and credit unions will eschew custom development and choose a full white-label solution such as MX, Backbase or dozens of others. Or alternatively, go with a hybrid co-brand, such as BancVue’s Kasasa or FamZoo for the teen/pre-teen crowd.

——FinDEVrwithDate

We’ll be looking at these issues and more at our second annual financial services developers event,FinDEVr, in October.

——

Graphic source: Linkedin

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Feature Friday: Umpqua Showcases the Closest Branch on its Website

Feature Friday: Umpqua Showcases the Closest Branch on its Website
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Branch Banking, Sales Techniques, Service, Umpqua Bank

umpqua_personal_home

I’m not a fan of bank branches (except Chase’s Northeast Seattle outpost, Hi Ben). In my view, 80% of what goes on there is better done remotely, and the other 20% just doesn’t provide enough ROI. But if you do have good branches, you should at least use your digital presence to showcase them.

Probably the best example of growing a franchise using branching—at least in the United States over the past 20 years—is Umpqua Bank. It grew from a small community bank to a West Coast regional on the back of its innovative branching strategy. (Warning! Do not try to copy this strategy; it’s not 1995 any more.) So, it’s no surprise that Umpqua is one of the more adept FIs in showcasing their local, branch-based services.

Most large banks require users to enter a ZIP code to personalize the website experience. But even then, you generally have to go to an ATM/branch finder to locate the closest branch. Umpqua wisely automates this process on both its desktop and mobile website, though it works more seamlessly on the desktop (see desktop example, above).

umpqua_open_signThe bank uses visitor IP addresses to showcase branches in their city, but it goes one step further (at least in Chrome), by asking permission to use your location. If granted, Umpqua shows the exact branch closest to you. The branch name, address, and contact info are showcased right across the top of the screen. Finally—and I love this little touch—during open hours, there is an old-school “Open” sign in the right-hand corner. They could go one step further and add the temperature and maybe the time right below.

Those personalization techniques, while quite simple, makes prospective customers feel confident that the bank has a local orientation and really desires their business, whether it be digital or branch-focused.

Not everything Umpqua does is perfect. The bank also attempts to showcase local events on the left-hand column. But in my testing today, they were wildly off base. For instance, it listed a farmers market that was 40 miles away and didn’t mention the one within walking distance.

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Fintech Fundings: 27 Companies Raise $1.6 Billion Week Ending Aug 21

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Uncategorized

Man_moneyFintech funding records continue to fall. Last week was the record number of deals with 27. This week it was the biggest total dollars raised at $1.6 billion, from 27 companies again. The vast majority of the money ($1.5 billion) went to three online lenders (Sofi = $1 billion; Avant = $340 million; Dianrong = $220 million). As private companies, there is not a lot of transparency about deal-terms in these three mega-rounds. However, we expect most, if not all, of the funding was structured as debt.

One Finovate alum was in the mix this week: Tio Networks picked up $1.7 million in a secondary stock offering. So far this year, 94 Finovate alums have raised $2.9 billion, about a quarter of the $11.9 billion raised by the entire fintech sector (weekly detail).

Here are the deals by size from 14 August to 20 Aug 2015:

SoFI (Social Finance)
Student loan marketplace lender
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $1 billion ($4 billion valuation)
Total raised: $1.75 billion (at least $400 million is debt)
Tags: Student loans, credit, underwriting, refinance, crowdfunding, P2P, investing
Source: Wall Street Journal

Avant
Alt-consumer lending
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Latest round: $339 million (Debt)
Total raised: $1.43 billion ($1.1 billion debt, $330 million equity)
Tags: Consumer credit, underwriting
Source: Fortune

Dianrong
Marketplace lender and digital banking solutions provider
HQ: Shanghai, China
Latest round: $207 million Series C ($1 billion valuation)
Total raised: $219 million
Tags: Lending, digital banking, P2P, credit, consumer, SMB, underwriting, Standard Charter (lead investor)
Source: FT Partners

LaunchPoint
Health care payments and analytics software
HQ: Goleta, California
Latest round: $22.5 million
Total raised: $26 million
Tags: Payments, insurance, BI, analytics, enterprise
Source: FT Partners

Revel Systems
iPad-based point-of-sale system
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $13.5 million ($500+ million valuation)
Total raised: $129 million
Tags: Merchants, SMB, card acquiring, POS, mobile, tablet
Source: Crunchbase

GroupLend
Canadian marketplace lender
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Latest round: $10.2 million
Total raised: $10.2 million
Tags: Lending, consumer, credit, loans, underwriting, investing, P2P, crowdfunding
Source: FT Partners

MarketInvoice
Marketplace lender for invoice-backed, small-business loans
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: $9.3 million Series A
Total raised: $20 million
Tags: SMB, crowdfunding, P2P, factoring, investing
Source: FT Partners

GuiaBolso
Brazilian personal finance service
Latest round: $7 million
Total raised: $7 million
Tags: PFM, personal finance, money management
Source: FT Partners

Guideline Technologies
401(k) solutions
HQ: San Mateo, California
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $2 million
Tags: Investing, retirement, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

nVoicePay
B2B payments network
HQ: Portland, Oregon
Latest round: $1.8 million
Total raised: $8.0 million
Tags: Payments, invoicing, accounts payable, accounting, receivables, SMB
Source: FT Partners

Tio Networks
Cloud-based billing services
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Latest round: $1.7 million Secondary Stock Offering
Total raised: $22.7 million
Tags: Billpay, payments, SMB, accounts payable, invoicing, Finovate alum
Source: FT Partners

HouseHappy
Residential real estate marketplace
HQ: Portland, Oregon
Latest round: $1.3 million
Total raised: $5.0 million
Tags: Home buying, mortgage, lending
Source: Geekwire

CreditPoint Software
Risk metrics for B2B credit
HQ: Owasso, Oklahoma
Latest round: $890,000
Total raised: $1.05 million
Tags: Commercial lending, underwriting, SMB, credit report
Source: WhoGotFunded

Capital Match
Peer-to-peer lending marketplace for small businesses
HQ: Singapore
Latest round: $710,000
Total raised: $710,000
Tags: Credit, P2P, lending, underwriting, investing, SMB
Source: Crunchbase

Simply Wall Street
Mobile investment research and management tool
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Latest round: $600,000
Total raised: $700,000
Tags: Investing, trading, research, valuations, stock market, mobile
Source: FT Partners

Awamo
Microfinance management for the institution
HQ: Frankfurt, Germany
Latest round: $550,000
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Lending, micro-credit, underwriting, servicing
Source: WhoGotFunded

Agio Technologies
Currency exchange app
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: $235,000
Total raised: $430,000
Tags: Mobile, fx, remittances, payments, funds transfer
Source: Crunchbase

Captain401
Easy 401(k) solutions
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), investing, retirement, wealth management
Source: Bank Innovations

Drip Capital
Online small-business lender
HQ: Sunnyvale, California
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), SMB, lending, credit, underwriting
Source: Techcrunch

Greenshoe (Saida)
Microlending in emerging markets
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), lending, underbanked, underwriting, consumer, credit
Source: Bank Innovations

SericaPay
Online and mobile payment platform
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), payments, acquiring, merchants, SMB
Source: Bank Innovations

Tab
Mobile payments geared to travelers
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), payments
Source: Bank Innovations

Tesorio
Accounts receivable financing
HQ: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), payments, acquiring, merchants, SMB
Source: Bank Innovations

Vest
Simplified stock-hedging via options
HQ: McClean, Virginia
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), investing, trading, options, stock market
Source: Dealbreaker

Xendit
Mobile payments
HQ: San Francisco, California
Latest round: $120,000
Total raised: $120,000
Tags: Y Combinator (YC S15), payments, mobile, wallet, Indonesia (market)
Source: Techcrunch

We Are Briqs
Digital banking solutions
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Online, mobile banking
Source: FT Partners

Moneytis
Low-cost money-transfer service
HQ: Paris, France
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: Unknown
Tags: Payments, blockchain, remittances, FX
Source: Crunchbase

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