Guardian Analytics Unveils FraudMAP Wire Product to Prevent Wire Fraud

GuardianAnalytics1.jpg

Fraud prevention company Guardian Analytics released a new product today called FraudMAP Wire.

As the name suggests, the SaaS solution prevents wire fraud across all bank channels. Using behavioral analytics, FraudMAP Wire determines high risk wire transfers in call centers, faxes, branches, emails, and online.

In real-time, the automated system speeds up low-risk transactions and stops high-risk transactions to determine if it is fraudulent. Some benefits of the new service include:

    • Requires customer interaction for only the most high risk wires
    • Receives all wire transactions in real-time from the financial institution’s wire processing solution
    • Provides integrated workflow for investigation and execution of final wire release status

Guardian Analytics demoed at FinovateFall 2010.

Finovate Alumni News– April 24, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAdobe and SapientNitro form partnership. Come see Adobe’s new tech at FinovateSpring.
  • Forbes lists Zopa as 1 of 10 top P2P lending platforms in Europe. 
  • MicroStrategy unveils upgrade to company’s enterprise analytics platform. See them demo at FinovateSpring in May.
  • Bank Systems & Technology takes a look at ACI Worldwide’s new Universal Payments Platform.
  • CommunityLend’s FinanceIt named 1 of Branham300’s Top 25 Up-and-Coming companies.
  • Is TransferWise a “simplified PayPal for business banking”?
  • ACI Worldwide to offer Mobile Bill Pay Suite.
  • Bank Investment Consultant features social media resource Finect. Come meet Finect at FinovateSpring in San Francisco in May.
  • Newser takes a look at Green Dot’s new online bank: GoBank. See a demo of GoBank at FinovateSpring.
  • Motherhood Moment interviews TipRanks CEO and co-founder Uri Gruenbaun. See TipRanks in action 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.

FinovateSpring 2013 Sneak Peek: Part 3

FinovateSpring13Logo.jpg

This is the third part in our continuing Sneak Peek series that gives a glimpse into what each company will demo live on stage at FinovateSpring.

Don’t miss part 1 and part 2 published earlier this month. 

See the full demos live at FinovateSpring next month. Get your ticket here

_______________________________________________

Better ATM Services’ groundbreaking technology enables ATMs to dispense new, flexible prepaid cards just like cash, opening the world’s fleet of 2.3 million ATMs to the prepaidBetterATMLogo.jpg marketplace.

Features:

    • Visa and others are adopting this new distribution channel
    • Consumers love the 24/7 convenience of ATMs for prepaids
Why it’s great: Financial institutions can recapture 50%+ of customers now going elsewhere for prepaids, increasing their share of the $549 billion prepaid market.

BrightFundsLogoSm.jpg

Bright Funds is a solution for effective charitable giving management, combining the sophistication of investing with the intuitive, engaging experience of modern web services.
Features:
    • The Bright Funds Charitable Giving Portfolio
    • The Bright Funds Impact Timeline
    • Bright Funds Public Profiles for Giving
Why it’s great: Bright Funds brings an investment approach to charitable giving.

FamZooLogo2Large.jpg

FamZoo’s online family banking system helps parents teach kids good money habits.
Features:
    • Family pack of affordable, widely accepted prepaid cards
    • Integrated family finance tools build good habits
    • Co-branded option delivers targeted offers
Why it’s great: FamZoo solves the “kids and money” problem for parents: prepaid cards that work together, not alone.

IntuitLogo.jpg

Intuit delivers banking software and technology solutions for financial institutions.
Features:
    • Gives banks better insight to serve customers
    • Blurs lines between PFM/banking 
    • Learn what Mint has in store for personal business
Why it’s great: Intuit now offers the best PFM solution for all users – whether it is through Mint.com or financial institutions.

LeapScoreLogo.jpg

LeapScore is financial advice for the rest of us.
Features:
    • Tailored help and advice for each individual
    • Empowers people to take more control over finances
    • Sets meaningful goals
Why it’s great: a comprehensive score that, for the first time, represents “who” you are financially.

MicroStrategyLogo2.jpg

MicroStrategy provides online banking without usernames or passwords, instant identity validation over the phone: Usher radically changes the way IDs, cards, and keys are issued and carried.
Features:
    • Mobile phone-based digital credentials
    • Multi-factor verification including voiceprints
    • Secure out-of-band authentication
Why it’s great: Usher: an extraordinary array of identity-management services that reduce fraud, protect identities and improve customer experience.
MoneyDesktopLogo.jpg

MoneyDesktop redefines the way millions of people interact with their finances by developing technologies that drive financial engagement between account holders and financial institutions.
Features:
    • Leverage aggregated PFM user data 
    • Segment and target your user base
    • Increase conversion rates and loan volume
Why it’s great: Insight and Target provide financial institutions with a groundbreaking new way to market and drive adoption of their most valuable services.
OneID eliminates the need for usernames and 

OneIDLogo.jpg

passwords, while delivering a secure, compliant identity system that’s easy for your customers to use.

Features:
    • Secure, one-click login with no password
    • Customizable two-factor authentication
    • Easy cross-selling with automatic form-fill
Why it’s great: Convenience of one-click login. Security of public key cryptography. Flexibility to meet financial institutions’
needs. Identity as it should be.

QuantopianLogo.jpg

Quantopian is the world’s only browser-based algorithmic trading platform, democratizing finance by reducing barriers to entry and providing quants the tools and support needed to profit from their ideas
Feature:
    • Combines historical data, algo simulation, live market data, brokerage integration and algo development into a simple workflow
Why it’s great: Allows quants to put their ideas and algorithms to work and profit from them with the click of a button

RefundoLogo.jpg

Refundo is designed to revolutionize the way people do banking and extend mainstream banking advantages to underbanked and unbanked communities across the nation.
Features:
    • Open an FDIC-insured bank account in seconds using your smartphone. 
    • Send money to your friends and family quickly and securely.
Why it’s great: Finally a new way to manage your money. And by new, we mean better.


YandexMoneyLogo.jpg

Yandex.Money’s Twym is a quick and convenient way to send money via Twitter.
Features:
    • Easy-to-use interface for collecting money
    • You don’t have to leave Twitter
    • Other users can repeat payments in one click
Why it’s great: Twym makes transferring money simple and fun.

YseopLogo.jpg

Yseop’s artificial intelligence software writes just like a human being, but at a speed of over a thousand pages per second and in multiple languages.
Feature:
    • Yseop boosts the productivity of your business teams by automating the delivery of best practices and personalized expertise.
Why it’s great: Yseop creates a new age where financial services delivered to customers are driven by artificial intelligence and human collaboration.
_____________________________________________________________
For more information on being a part of FinovateSpring 2013, see our FAQ. To register, visit out FinovateSpring page here.

Finovate Alumni News– April 22, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBoulder Valley Credit Union introduces Tyfone Mobile Banking Financial Services.
  • Nerdwallet reviews Personal Capital.
  • Center for Financial Inclusion blog features Entreprenurial Finance Lab’s technology.
  • Payments News reports Blackhawk Network completes IPO.
  • Community Credit Union releases MoneyDesktop 4.0 to its members.
  • eToro helps new users to connect with people on OpenBook by unlocking their feed.
  • Newfination hosts Carl-Henrik Somp, Trustly COO, to discuss the startup’s service.
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.

Rebirth Financial Unveils White-Label Crowdfunding Platform

Rebirth_Financial.jpg

Rebirth Financial, the New Orleans-based crowdfunding platform that launched publicly earlier this year, recently unveiled its white-labeled platform.

The platform can be tailored to organizations that want to host their own customized crowdfunding platform. Features include:

  • Customized Admin pageRebirthplatform.jpg
    Allows organizations to internally approve projects, oversee traffic, view fundraising goal progress, and change website information.
  • Unlimited fundraiser pages
    These customizable pages support photos, videos, and blogs, can be integrated with social media, and come with IT support.
  • Secure lender panel
    The lender panel comes with search capability, a variety of payment options, and an anonymous lender option

The platform can be hosted in any currency and in any language.

Rebirth Financial demoed at FinovateFall 2011.

American Banker Sheds Light on Narrative Science

NarrativeScienceLogo2.jpg

Earlier this week, American Banker wrote a feature on Chicago-based Narrative Science.

Narrative Science’s software uses technology that imports raw data on subjects ranging from earnings reports to compliance updates. The company began as a project at Northwestern University, where the software was used to generate baseball game recaps.

Here is a bit of quick insight into the company:

    • Customers include Forbes and Personal Capital
    • 40 employees, soon hiring 8 more
    • Launched in 2010
NSHomepage.jpg

Narrative Science will demo its technology live at FinovateSpring in San Francisco next month. Get your ticket here to watch the demo.

Mountain America Credit Union Launches MoneyDesktop’s My Money Manager PFM

MoneyDesktopLogoNew.jpg

Money Desktop, creator of the Bubble Budget PFM, announced today that Mountain America Credit Union launched its My Money Manager PFM solution.

Mountain America launched the solution 6 weeks ago, and has since seen 13% of its active online user base (more than 22,000 members) sign up for the service. It provides the solution to its members for free.

MoneyDPCInterface.jpg

Mountain America selected the PFM solution for its “wow-factor” and multiple benefits:

    • Presents all financial accounts in one location
    • Allows members to visualize spending habits
    • Monitors net worth month-to-month
    • Helps users manage debt by generating spending reportsMoneyDBubbleBudgets.jpg
    • Presents data in real-time 

The Financial Brand featured the Utah-based company’s Bubble Budgets on its blog today, and noted these stats:

    • From 2011 to 2012, its number of customers grew almost 80%, recurring monthly revenue increased almost 4.5X
    • More than 400 FIs have selected MoneyDesktop as their PFM provider
    • Recently, it signed more than 270 new clients, added 22 tech partners in the fintech industry

To learn more about MoneyDesktop, watch its FinovateFall 2012 demo and come to see its new tech launched at FinovateSpring next month in San Francisco. Get your ticket here.

Finovate Alumni News– April 17, 2013

  • Webmasterchecks drops PayPal and makes Dwolla its exclusive payment service provider.
  • Mobile World Live considers Braintree’s offline strategy. Come to FinovateSpring to check out its live demo.
  • Kony Solutions talks to banks about selling shares in a public offering as early as this year.
  • Xero releases updates that facilitate payroll reporting.
  • Chicago Tribune takes a look at TipRanks. Join TipRanks in San Francisco in May for FinovateSpring.
  • Alliance Data Retail Services reports on its geofence pilot program with Locaid.
  • EyeVerify wins third eyeprint patent for its mobile security technology. See them demo at FinovateSpring.
  • ACI Worldwide announces latest version of ACI Issuer, a cost-savings solution for card-issuing and account management.
  • Actiance partners with Symantec to provide integrated compliance, eDiscovery and archiving for social business.
  • BrightScope brings Nerd’s Eye View publisher Michael Kitces to its advisory board.
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.

Personal Capital Launches New iPad Features, Overhauls Interface

PersonalCapitalLogo.jpg

Online wealth management platform, Personal Capital, recently added several new features to its iPad app and overhauled its design with a sleek new interface.

Three new features of this free app include:

1) The You IndexiPadIMG.jpg
Users can customize their own financial index and compare their own portfolio to major market indices.

2) Net Worth
Users can track their net worth on-the-go

3) Investment Checkup
Users can identify fees, risks, and determine if they are on par with their financial goals

Additional updates include:

    • New dashboard with improved navigation
    • Expanded date ranges: 30 days, 90 days, 6 months
    • Expanded offline account types: Home, Car, Art, as well as offline portfolios
    • Cash flow now shows individual category or vendor detail and averages over time

Easy for users to pinpoint asset allocation

NewUIiPad1.jpg

See holdings in different sectors

NewUIiPad2.jpg

The Investment Checkup determines if a user’s portfolio is aligned with allocation

NewUIipad3.jpg

The 401K fee analyzer determines how much users may be losing in investment management fees

NewUIipad4.jpg

Monitor transactions across accounts and by category

NewUIipad5.jpg

To learn more about Personal Capital, watch its FinovateFall 2012 demo.

Swipely Adds Two Features: Campaign Insights and Reputation Management

SwipelyLogo9.11.jpg

Customer loyalty management platform, Swipely announced today that it is adding two new features in May, merchants in more than 100 cities nationwide will be able to access these features for free:

1) Campaign Insights
This will help companies measure the impact that online and offline marketing campaigns have on sales. This includes:

    • Event-based campaigns
    • Twitter and Facebook marketing (see 1 below)
    • Customer reviews from Yelp and Google (see 2 below)
Campaign Insights conducts follow-up monitoring after the marketing campaigns conclude, in order to determine how many customers return over time (see 3 below).
SwipelyInsight2.jpg

2) Reputation Management
Swipely provides one platform from which small businesses can manage their reputation, including the capability to:

    • Monitor and manage their online reputation on Google, Yelp and OpenTable (see 1 below)
    • Engage with specific customers and address their online reviews directly from Swipely
    • Compare reputation with other businesses (see 2 below)
SwipelyReputation.jpg

Swipely is currently managing more than $500 million in annual sales and provides merchants with insight into the behavior of nearly 1.5 million customers. This represents 100% growth in just the last quarter.

To learn more about Swipely, watch its FinovateSpring 2012 demo.

ImpulseSave: Channeling Impulsive Habits to Help Achieve Financial Goals

ImpulseSaveLogo.jpg

There are plenty of online platforms, mobile apps, and advisors that seek to help users save money. Massachusetts-based ImpulseSave fits into the same category, but uses a creative, reverse approach.
I chatted with ImpulseSave Co-founder and CEO, Phil Fremont-Smith, to get the inside scoop, then tried it out for myself to get a better look at the platform.
Overview

IMG_1504.PNG

ImpulseSave gives users a savings account, backed by Massachusetts-based Leader Bank, into which they can make weekly contributions and small, “micro-saves” towards a specific financial goal. These impulsive micro-saves can be deposited using the online platform, the ImpulseSave smartphone app (see right) or by SMS text.
So rather than purchasing a candy bar at the grocery store or buying a cup of coffee from Starbucks instead of making it at home, users can redirect that money into their savings account, giving them a point of saving at every point of sale. This moves money out of harm’s way, where it can build towards a goal.
Metrics
  • Savings average over $3k per user per year
  • Individual users save, on average, more than 2 times per week
  • Since ImpulseSave’s launch, users’ average weekly savings has risen from $15 to $28
  • About 1/3 of users have referred ImpulseSave to a friend, averaging 3 friends each.
  • Over the last 2 months, ImpulseSave’s Net Promoter Score rose from 39% to 60%
What I liked:

1) Easy account creation
I needed only a driver’s license and credit card to open an account. My computer’s webcam, combined with optical character recognition (OCR) technology, made this very simple and fast.
ImpulseSaveSignUp.jpg
2) Autosave feature
ImpulseSave gave me the option to make automatic, weekly transfers from my checking account into the goal account I opened to save for a new kayak helmet. 
The slider tool made it easy for me to adjust the amount of my weekly deductions from my checking account into my ImpulseSave goal account. As I increased the amount of my weekly transfers, the number of months until I achieve my goal decreased. 
With weekly deductions of $15, it will take 2 months to achieve my goal of $153. However, the more impulse saves I make, the closer I get to achieving this goal. 
ISAutoSave2.jpg
Every Monday, ImpulseSave emails me a reminder that my weekly autosaves will be deducted from my checking account Monday afternoon. In case I want to skip this week’s autosave, the bottom of the email contains a small link that gives me the option to skip the autosave for that week. 
AutoSaveEmail.jpg
3) The user dashboard 
This is my favorite piece. Seeing a picture of my goal, progress, and a detailed view of each of my impulse saves, makes saving money tangible. 
Each week, the progress graph fills in with auto saves and impulse saves. This kept me coming back to monitor my progress and watch the date I was projected to achieve my goal change.
GoalProgress2.jpg
ImpulseSave gives me the option to edit, delete, or pause the goal. I can also transfer money from one goal to another. Once I reach my goal, it’s easy (and free) to withdraw money from the goal’s account back into my checking account so I can make the purchase.

What’s next
  • Account aggregation: this will change the user experience into an even more active one. The ImpulseSave platform will serve as a base where users can not only track their goals, but also monitor their other accounts, bill payments, etc. 
  • Danger Zone feature: this will allow users to gamify savings with friends and family. Danger Zone will invite users to identify locations in which they are most tempted to make bad purchasing decisions (For some, this is the Apple store. Tor me, it’s REI). After users identify their danger zones, friends and family members can leave a “trap” for them in that location in the form of a push notification. For example, the message may read, “Put the credit card down and step away.”
To learn more about ImpulseSave, see its live demo video at FinovateFall 2012.

Credit Sesame Reports Growth Figures

CreditSesameLogo.jpg

Credit score and money management platform, Credit Sesame released some usage metrics today. 

Since launching in September 2010, the Mountain View, California-based company reports:

    • 2 million members
    • $60 billion in loans under management
    • More than $600 million annualized savings has been identified for users

CScreditPage2.jpg

To learn more about Credit Sesame, watch its FinovateFall 2012.