Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Linkable Networks Partners with Lyfepoints, Enabling Users to Apply Savings to Utility Payments

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Linkable Networks

LinkableNetworksLogo.jpg

Today, card-linked offer platform Linkable Networks announced a partnership with Lyfepoints, a company that converts consumers’ spending into utility payment reductions.

Users with both a Linkable Networks and a Lyfepoints account now have the option to transfer the rewards they earned on the Linkables platform into credits on the Lyfepoints platform. These credits can be used to reduce monthly bills at service providers such as:

    • Verizon WirelessThumbnail image for linkablesFlow.jpg
    • Direct TV
    • Xfinity 
    • Every utility company in North America

If a user decides to transfer their Linkables rewards to Lyfepoints credits, they will be held in their Lyfepoints accounts until the time of payment, at which point they can be transferred to a utility bill.

To learn more about Linkable Networks, watch its FinovateFall 2012 demo.

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Finovate Alumni News– April 9, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Braintree, Business Centric Services Groups, eDeposit, Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, eToro, Green Dot, Intuit, Kofax, Lodo Software, Mitek, Narrative Science, Online Resources, PaySimple, Plastyc, Quantopian, Realty Mogul, TipRanks, TradeHero, Yodlee
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAG Beat features Entrepreneurial Finance Lab.
  • BSCG, Mitek, and Yodlee selected as Monarch B2B Innovation Award Winners.
  • Lodo Software appoints Matthew Lawlor, former founder & CEO of Online Resources, to board of directors.
  • South African Logistics Company implements Kofax Software to Automate HR. Watch Kofax demo live at FinovateSpring.
  • Business Credit Radio features Sue Heilbronner, PaySimple’s Chief Growth Officer.
  • American Banker highlights Plastyc’s unique approach to serving prepaid card users. Watch Plastyc’s demo at FinovateSpring.
  • Mati Greenspan, senior investment consultant at eToro, explains how eToro will soon support Bitcoin.
  • American Banker looks at Braintree’s multi-merchant approach. Come see Braintree demo at FinovateSpring.
  • Live Science considers how Narrative Science
    automates journalism and report generation. See Narrative Science’s live demo at FinovateSpring.
  • Quantopian announces algorithm development competition.  The company will demo at FinovaeSpring in May.
  • Bank Innovation reports: Intuit will continue to support FinanceWorks.
  • Reuters takes a look at TipRanks. See them demo at FinovateSpring.
  • eDeposit announces major new features in upgrade of mobile app.
  • TradeHero a winner at Echelon Singapore Satellite pitch competition.
  • INTJ Capital gives kudos to Quantopian’s decision to provide for external data sets. Join Quantopian in San Francisco for FinovateSpring in May.
  • American Banker interviews Green Dot CEO and founder Steven Streit. See Green Dot demo at FinovateSpring.
  • Realty Mogul is among the companies highlighted in Upstart Business Journal column on crowd funding. See them demo at FinovateSpring.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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First Quarter 2013 Funding for Finovate Alumni– More Than $150 Million Raised

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Affinity Solutions, Azimo, BillFloat, Clover Network, CoverHound, DeviceFidelity, On Deck Capital, PayNearMe, Prosper, Q2ebanking, SoMoLend, True Office, Tuition.io, Wealthfront
Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

This quarter, both January and Feburary funding exceeded $50 million. Most of February’s funding can be attributed to On Deck Capital’s $42 million round.

Over three months, 15 companies raised more than $155 million, This is very similar to last year’s first quarter funding* when we saw a total of 11 companies raise more than $150 million.

Here’s the Q1 summary for 2013:

January — $57 million raised by 6 companies
February — $56 million raised by 5 companies

March — $42 million raised by 4 companies

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*While the funding over last year has increased, so has the number of Finovate alums. We’re tracking more than 100 additional companies this year compared to last year.

Note: Funding that companies received before they demonstrated at Finovate was not counted. Questions? Comments? Email us at julie@finovate.com or david@finovate.com.

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BSCG, Mitek, and Yodlee Selected as Monarch B2B Innovation Award Winners

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Business Centric Services Groups, Mitek, Yodlee

MonarchInnovationAward.jpg

Recently, Business Centric Services Group (BCSG), Mitek, and Yodlee were honored at the Monarch Innovation Awards:

Business Centric Services Group (BCSG)

    • Award category: Most Innovative Industry PartnerBCSGLogo.jpg
    • Product: Business Hub, an online subscription service that gives micro business owners access to a suite of tools that provides easy-to-use solutions for common challenges.
    • FinovateEurope 2012 demo video 

MitekLogo.jpg

Mitek

    • Award category: Overall Most Innovative Award
    • Product: Mobile Deposit, a solution that enables financial institutions to offer remote deposit capture to their clients.
    • FinovateSpring 2012 demo video

Yodlee

    • Award Category: YodleeLogo2012.jpgHonorable Mention – Industry Partner
    • Product: Yodlee Platform, a product designed to help financial institutions reach valueable customer segments by tapping into Yodlee’s deep understanding of the unique financial needs, goals, and concerns of customers.
    • FinovateFall 2012 demo video

The awards are presented by Minnesota-based Barlow Research Associates to recognize B2B innovations within the financial services industry that provide the most innovative products to business customers.

_________________________________________________________________

See Monarch’s FAQ to learn more about the Innovation Award methodology 

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Finovate Alumni News– April 8, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Allied Payment Network, Bazaarvoice, Dwolla, Fiserv, Gold Bullion International, GoodApril, Green Dot, IDTheft 911, Mitek, Realty Mogul, SecondMarket, SoMoLend, TradeKing, TransferWise, Virtual Piggy, Xero, Yodlee, Zooz, Zopa
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgInvestors 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.
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.

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What Will Mint.com Look Like Inside a Branded Online Banking Environment?

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Mint.com

MintLogo.jpg

Yesterday, Netbanker provided insight from a recent briefing with Intuit about Mint.com’s new co-branded offering for FIs.

Here are some quick highlights from the extensive coverage:

  • Of Intuit’s 1,100 online banking clients, 500 use Intuit’s existing PFM, FinanceWorks
  • The new co-branded environment provides another monetization model for Intuit’s Mint unit, who’s current business model relies on third-party ads and offers
  • A typical bank has 10% of its customer base registered with Mint (though the active user base is much smaller)
  • Current Mint users will be able to automatically upload their spending history and aggregated accounts to the Mint platform within their online banking experience

The Intuit-provided mockups below show what the co-branded user experience will look like inside an online banking platform. Overall, it will be very similar to the existing Mint.com experience, one of the few differences being that users will not see third-party offers, unless the bank decides to run them.

Mint advice and account aggregation features:

image

Clicking on Mint in the co-branded experience shows the familiar spending analysis features:

image

 Other familiar Mint-branded functionality:


image

A few financial institutions will begin piloting Mint in their online banking platform soon, and will make it widely available near the end of this year.

Mint.com demoed at the first Finovate in 2007 and will return to the Finovate stage this Spring in San Francisco where it will launch its latest development. To be one of the first to see Mint’s new technology, get your ticket here.

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Finovate Alumni News– April 5, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Braintree, Locaid, Pageonce, PayPal, Prosper, Realty Mogul, Wallaby Financial, Yandex, Yodlee
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgYodlee launches first phase of new Developer Portal.
  • VentureBeat looks at how PayPal’s new credit alternative for merchants simplifies financing.
  • TechCrunch reviews Braintree’s Venmo Touch. Come see its live demo at FinovateSpring.
  • Yandex announces redesign of homepage that’s 50% faster than the previous one. Check out Yandex and FinovateSpring.
  • Prosper works with the Securities Division of WA’s Dept of Finance to allow Washington residents to lend once again.
  • Life360 deploys Locaid to provide customers with free location lookups via smartphone.
  • Dignity Folklorist reviews Pageonce for iPhone.
  • Business2Community features Wallaby 2.0 for Android.
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.

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Finovate Alumni News– April 4, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: eToro, FamZoo, Giftly, Jack Henry, Kabbage, Kashoo, Monitise, Nutmeg, ShopKeep POS, Virtual Piggy
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgKabbage brings in $75 million in debt financing.
  • Finextra reports: eToro launches social alerts app.
  • PaymentEye features Virtual Piggy. Come see its live demo at FinovateSpring next month. http://bit.ly/Zaunjl
  • Business Solutions speaks with Jason Richelson, ShopKeep POS CEO, who debunks the myth that cloud POS fails when the internet shuts down. 
  • TechCrunch TV interviews Nick Hungerford, Nutmeg CEO on how he aims to disrupt the financial investment world.
  • Verity CU features FamZoo, makes it available to members. Come see FamZoo’s latest development at FinovateSpring.
  • Kashoo releases new version of iPad app.
  • Monitise Executive Vice President Lisa Stanton interviewed by Bdaily.
  • Jack Henry & Associates’s Symitar platform to be deployed by Kitsap Credit Union.
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.

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Braintree Launches Venmo Payments to Help Small Businesses Pay Contractors, Partners with TaxCloud

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Braintree

BraintreeLogo.jpg

Last week, online payments solutions company Braintree announced the beta launch of Venmo Payouts. This new service provides small businesses with an API to help them pay multiple independent contractors. 

The API removes checks from the payment process, enabling small businesses to pay their contractors via email or a phone number. In turn, the contractors receive payment in their account by the following day.

It’s priced at 25 cents per payment, but it lessens small businesses’ accounting headaches and helps contractors get paid more quickly.

Braintree acquired New York-based Venmo for $26 million in August of last year.

Venmo.jpg

TaxCloudLogo.jpeg

Additionally, the Chicago-based company announced a partnership with TaxCloud, a tax management service for online retailers. This partnership will provide Braintree merchants a free way to collect and manage sales tax online.

Braintree demoed at FinovateSpring 2011 and will be on the FinovateSpring stage next month in San Francisco. 

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Kabbage Brings in $75 Million in Debt Financing

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Kabbage

KabbageLogo.jpg

Kabbage, a startup that provides working capital to online merchants in the U.S. and U.K., announced today it received $75 million in debt financing.

Victory Park Capital led the round. Existing investor, Thomvest Ventures, also contributed.

KabbageFlow.jpg

According to Crunchbase, from 2010 to 2011 the Atlanta-based startup received almost $17 million in debt financing. 

It has also raised more than $53 million in equity funding, including:

Venture Round, $6.65 million
Closed: January 2011
Investors:
  • BlueRun Ventures
  • David Bonderman
  • Warren Stephens
  • UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund
Series B, $17 million
Closed: August 2011
Investors:
  • Mohr Davidow Ventures
  • BlueRun Ventures
  • Warren Stephens
  • UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund
  • Jim McKelvey
Series C, $30 million
Closed: September 2012
Investors:
  • Thomvest Ventures
  • UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund
  • Mohr Davidow Ventures
  • BlueRun Ventures
  • Warren Stephens
  • David Bonderman
  • SV Angel

According to TechCrunch, Kabbage’s new debt funding is due to the massive growth it has seen recently. It has extended more than 60,000 advances, which have quadrupled in volume year-over-year.

To learn more about Kabbage, watch its FinovateEurope 2013 demo.

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Finovate Alumni News– April 3, 2013

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Allied Payment Network, BBC Easy, Cardlytics, Cartera Commerce, edo Interactive, eWise, Fiserv, Flint Mobile, Holvi, IntelliResponse, Kiboo, Mint.com, Monitise, Moven, Narrative Science, OpenCoin, Pageonce, PayPal, ProfitStars, TSYS
  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTech Dirt looks at Narrative Science’s role in algorithmically-generated journalism. Come See Narrative Science at FinovateSpring.
  • Bdaily talks with Monitise EVP, Lisa Stanton, about mobile banking.
  • Numerica Credit Union adopts BBC Easy’s C&I Lending program.
  • CU Times reports Fiserv’s Spot Pay offers CUs a co-branded mobile payment platform and dongle.
  • Forbes looks at the growth of edo, Cardlytics, and Cartera Commerce and how card-linked offers are better than daily deals.
  • TechCruch reports OpenCoin has acquired SimpleHoney. See OpenCoin demo at FinovateSpring in May.
  • ProfitStars launches BillSimple from iPaySolutions.
  • TSYS to present at annual card forum and expo in April.
  • IntelliResponse adds 155th customer, the company’s first credit union.
  • Convenience Store Decisions notes the growing role of mobile payment options such as PayPal and Flint Mobile.
  • FIS, Open Solutions veteran Gary Daniel to join Allied Payment Network. Join them in San Francisco for FinovateSpring.
  • Banking Technology looks at eWise, Pageonce, Mint.com, Kiboo, Holvi, & Moven as PFM resurgence examples.
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.

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Credit Karma Brings in $30 Million in Series B Funding, Launches PFM Option

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Credit Karma

creditkarmalogo.jpg

Credit monitoring and reporting company, Credit Karma announced today that it raised $30 million in Series B funding.

This new round, which is 10 times more than the San Francisco-based company’s Series A round closed in 2009, was led by Ribbit Capital. Other investors include:

    • Susquehanna Growth Equity
    • Felicis Ventures (existing investor)

TechCrunch reports that with this new funding, Credit Karma plans to almost double its staff by the year’s end and develop new products and services, which it is doing this week with the launch of Insight.

Insight is an expansion of Credit Karma’s services that provides consumers with a Mint-type view of their finances that they can view all in one place (see screenshot below).

CKPFM.jpg

Credit Karma demoed at FinovateStartup 2009.

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