Finovate Alumni News– November 4, 2011

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

  • Plastyc launches UPside Visa Savings Purse.
  • Diversinet receives U.S. Patent for securely storing information on a mobile device.
  • American Banker reports Ohio Valley CU is working with Truaxis to offer discounts.
  • Xero calls on UK Gov to deliver better reporting, not simpler reporting for micro businesses.
  • Lendio adds 40 Banks, offers local business loans to 70% of the U.S.
  • Lending Club reaches $400 million in
    loan originations.

  • Huntington Bank works with Kony to
    create an iPad app.
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.

SecondMarket Reels in $15 Million From Former Facebook VP

SecondMKTLogo.jpgYesterday, SecondMarket announced a new round of funding: a $15 million Series C from The Social+Capital Partnership, a new venture fund established by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. He will also join the SecondMarket board. 

This brings SecondMarket’s total funding to $34 million with a $200 million valuation according to the Wall Street Journal, an increase of $50 million since February 2010.
To learn more about SecondMarket, watch its FinovateStartup 09 demo.

doxo Adds AT&T as a Biller and Launches New Feature

Thumbnail image for doxologo9.11.jpgMy collegue at Netbanker recently covered doxo’s recent addition of auto pay with limits:

“Digital ebill storage and payment startup doxo announced an important new feature to its service today, the ability to automatically pay ebills that fall within preset maximum values. For example, as long as my family’s wireless bill is under $250, doxo will automatically pay it and send me a confirmation message. If it’s more, I get an alert advising me to take a look at my bill before it’s paid.”

It also announced the addition of AT&T, a biller with almost 100 million billing accounts.

To learn more about doxo, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo

Finovate Alumni News– November 3, 2011

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

  • Reuters highlights how ReadyForZero benefits those in debt.
  • Braintree continues rapid growth — now processing $10 million daily.
  • doxo adds AT&T as a biller and launches new feature.

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.

Finovate Alumni Website Traffic in September

Each month we survey the Web-traffic performance of Finovate alums using data from Web-analytics company Compete.
Out of 268 alumni, 80 had more than 10,000 unique U.S. visitors in September 2011 and are included in the tables below. Of those, 33 (41%) had more visitors in September than August. Year-over-year, 42 (52%) had traffic increases.
Private Companies
  • Seeking Alpha and Cortera had the highest traffic in September with 2.1 and 2.0 million unique visitors, respectively. Cortera also had the highest increase in number of unique year-over-year visits with over 1.5 more visits in 2011 than in 2010.
  • Kabbage had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, up 280x.
  • Weemba saw the highest monthly growth percentage with more than 7.5 times the number of unique visitors in September compared to August.
  • SmartCredit.com had the highest increase in number of unique year-over-year visitors, growing by 126,000.
PrivateWebTrafficSeptember2.jpg
Source: Compete.com retrieved the week of October 26, 2011
 
1) The previous month recorded was August 2011
2) Sears Credit Score is powered by CreditKarma.com
3) Truaxis was formerly BillShrink
4) Kasasa is powered by BancVue
Public companies
 
  • CheckFree had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, with over 7 times the number of visitors this year than last year.
  • Intuit had a notable increase in number of unique, year-over-year visitors, increasing by 300,000 visits.
  • Check Point had the highest month-over-month percent growth, with 41% more visitors in September than in August.
PublicWebTrafficSeptember2.jpgSource: Compete.com retrieved the week of October 26, 2011

1) The previous month recorded was July 2011.
_______________________________________________________
Notes:
1. We reviewed 268 Finovate alumni. Only those with at least 10,000 unique visitors in July are listed.
3. NM = not measurable
4. t= tie
5. Compete estimates online visitors based on the activity of a panel of more than 2 million U.S. Internet users. It is only an estimate of traffic and may undercount at-work usage.

Finovate Alumni News– November 2, 2011

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

  • Prepaid Awards honors CashStar and Dell for Best Prepaid Gift Program.
  • Backbase names Visionary in latest Gartner Magic Quadrant.
  • American Banker discusses T8 Webware’s perfect solution for National Grand Bank of Marblehead.
  • Tab Times looks at the progress & success of Kashoo’s iPad app.
  • The Wall Street Journal reports Visa Europe takes 8.8% stake in Monitise.
  • Check Point buys compliance solutions co Dynasec.
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.

Finovate Alumni News– November 1, 2011

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

  • Kashoo’s small business iPad accounting app hits 5,000 downloads on iTunes.
  • CarryQuote named аѕ a winner οf the European Bully Awards.
  • Investment News examines how Personal Capital plays into the online-advice space.
  • The Washington Post surveys HelloWallet’s business model.
  • RobotDough.com announces its student financial writing competition.
  • Silicon Angle compares the 3 iPad apps launched last week: Wikinvest, Pageonce, & Mint.
  • Q2ebanking discusses mobile-banking security in Credit Union Times.
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.

Finovate Alumni News– October 31, 2011

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpg

  • Prosper.com creates account enhancements for investors.
  • Bank Technology News looks at Pageonce’s decision to add a bill pay service.
  • PSFK gives a sneak peek of BankSimple’s mobile app.
  • CNN Tech discusses the differences between Intuit’s Quicken and Mint.com.
  • Clairmail announces a record increase in cumulative mobile banking transactions.
  • ReadyForZero now supports auto loans, mortgages, and student loans.
  • The Des Moines Register looks at how Dwolla & T8 Webware contribute to Des Moines’s startup culture.
  • Benzinga looks at DoughMain’s family finance tool.
  • CU Times examines the usage of Mint.com’s iPad app.
  • The Republic examines LearnVest’s budgeting and advice platform.
  • Mint.com explores its history as an infographic and includes being a two-time Finovate Best of Show Winner.
  • Intuit receives two prestigious awards for social customer support, engagement.
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.

ReadyForZero Now Supports Auto Loans, Mortgages, and Student Loans

ReadyForZero.pngLast Thursday, online debt-tracking startup ReadyForZero launched several significant new features: 

  1. Expanded coverage beyond credit cards; now all loan types can be linked (auto, mortgage, student).
  2. Improved how users monitor debt payoff and added the ability to increase the payment amount to speed up the process (see below).
RFZSpeedCalc.jpg
3. Added actionable advice and activities to keep users focused on goals.

More developments, such as increased automation and better financial options, are expected in the weeks ahead.

To learn more about ReadyForZero’s debt-tracking platform, watch its FinovateFall 2011 demo.

Mint.com’s iPad App Now Available, Includes Transaction Feed

MintLogo.jpg

Yesterday, Mint.com launched its much-anticipated iPad app. The Intuit-owned company decided to wait until iOS 5 was released before launching the app to its 7 million users. One of the most-innovative features is the new Facebook-like transaction feed. 
MintTransactionFeed.jpg

The app also allows users to view bill reminders, alerts, and advice all in one place. 
To learn more about Mint.com watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

Finovate Alumni News– October 28, 2011

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBank Technology News reports BankSimple benefits from fee discontent.
  • Jason Calacanis interviews BillShrink (Truaxis) CEO during “This Week in Startups.”
  • LearnVest CEO Alexa Von Tobel provides advice in Forbes on how to save $1k by 2012.
  • SafetyPay partners with Brazil’s sixth-largest bank,
    HSBC Bank Brazil.
  • CashStar raises $12 million in series C financing.
  • Mint.com’s iPad app now available, includes transaction feed.
  • Under the Radar blog interviews Expensify CEO David Barrett.
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.

CashStar Raises $12 Million in Series C Financing

CashStar.jpgYesterday, e-gifting platform CashStar announced that it raised $12 million in Series C financing:

“The funding will be used to help drive continued adoption of digital gifting and grow CashStar’s retail brand network. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is another brand that has just partnered with CashStar to offer consumers a more personalized way to gift and incent.”
Investors included FTV Capital, Steven Boal (President & CEO of Coupons.com), and Passport Capital. 
To learn more about CashStar, watch its demo from FinovateFall 2011.