Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Alumni News– Week of June 20, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AlphaClone, billFLO, Bills.com, BrightScope, CashEdge, Continuity Control, Credit Karma, Currensee, Doxo, Dwolla, eWise, Expensify, HelloWallet, Jwaala, Lending Club, Lendio, Mortgagebot, PayNearMe, Prosper, Receivables Exchange, Strands, TradeKing, Voice Commerce, Xero, Zopa

AlumNewsIMG.jpg

AlphaClone
AlphaClone launched a new feature that measures sentiment. Link
BillFLO
Taulia acquired BillFLO. Link
Bills.com

Bills.com.jpg

Bills.com shared money-saving strategies for recent college graduates. Link
BrightScope
BrightScope was highlighted on the Tuscon NBC news channel series, “4 Your Money.” Link
CashEdge
Ally Bank began offering CashEdge’s Popmoney service. Link
Continuity Control

ContinuityControl.jpg

LEVERAGE, the Service Corporation for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, began offering Continuity Control’s CreditUnion Assistant program. Link
CreditKarma
Credit Karma introduced its Approval Odds service to help avoid being declined for a card. Link
Currensee
Currensee reached $6 billion in trading volume and $12 million under management. Link
doxo
The MakeUseOf blog reviewed doxo’s online filing cabinet. Link
Dwolla
  • Dwolla CEO commented on the Bitcoin virtual currency debate, exchange, and hysteria.  Link
  • Dwolla’s fees were compared to PayPal’s. Link
  • Silicon Prairie News discussed Dwolla CEO’s comments on Bitcoin. Link
eWise
eWise Payo’s smartphone app won the Editor’s Award for Consumer Focus at the 2011 Cards International Awards. Link
Expensify

Expensify.jpg

  • The Dallas News highlighted Expensify. Link
  • Expensify was listed as one of 25 tools to help you manage spending by cmvlive.com Link
HelloWallet
HelloWallet posted a short video series explaining its wealth-tracking service. Link
Jwaala

Jwallaa.jpg

KEMBA Financial Credit Union implemented Jwaala’s platform. Link
Lending Club
  • Lending Club is approaching its financial breakeven point. Link
  • Reuters commented on Lending Club’s P2P marketplace. Link
Lendio
Lendio helped banks increase business loans by finding qualified borrowers. Link
Mortgagebot

mortgagebot.jpg

Mortgagebot and Business Solutions extended their Tech Alliance to provide mortgage application solutions at preferred terms. Link
PayNearMe
PayNearMe facilitated 7-Eleven’s partnership with Greyhound for cash transactions. Link
Prosper
Reuters commented on Prosper’s P2P marketplace. Link
Receivables Exchange

Receivables exchange.jpg

The Receivables Exchange won 2011 “Management Team of the Year” at the Stevie Awards. Link
Strands
Strands Personal Finance landed in the 2011 Red Herring Top 100 North America list. Link
TradeKing
TradeKing announced its free webinar series on trading advice beginning July 12th. Link
Voice Commerce

VoiceCommerce.jpg

Voice Commerce launched its CashFlows app. Link
Xero
Getapp.com reviewed Xero’s cloud-based software. Link

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

HelloWallet is a PFM with Deep Philanthropic Roots

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: HelloWallet
We all know that sticking to a budget is important, but it’s not easy. HelloWallet’s online

HWLogo.jpg

personal financial management (PFM) is designed to help. Users can track long-term goals and spending through interactive graphs and personalized notifications. In addition, the startup’s philanthropic efforts make you feel even better about using the $8.95/mo advertising-free service. 
Washington, D.C.-based HelloWallet was founded in 2008 by former Brookings scholar Matt Fellows to provide financial guidance for Americans who lack access to professional advisors. The service originated with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation intended to help low-income Americans create a budget. 
Web Traffic
(Note: The traffic below does not reflect users who access the service through their employer. The footnote* at end of the post reflects those numbers.)

CompeteTraffic.jpg

(Retrieved June 22, 2011 from compete.com)
The company has expanded its horizons and now looks to help consumers at all income levels. In fact, HelloWallet is primarily distributed through Fortune 500 companies to their employees as a benefit.  
The User Experience 
No matter where you are in your financial journey, HelloWallet has features to help you stick to your budget. 
It has five main sections:
  1. Home features an overview of your accounts, a list of to-dos, and a feed of alerts.Thumbnail image for HomeScreen.jpg
  2. Plan focuses on the long-term view of wealth, goals, and budget through a cash-flow graph. It also provides personalized recommendations on how to increase savings.Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Plan Screen.jpg
  3. Budget displays account totals and income by day. It also shows budget totals by category.Budget Screen.jpg
  4. Transactions are listed and graphed. The graph shows money earned compared to money spent on a daily timeline.Transaction Screen 2.jpg
  5. Profile facilitates personalized advice by asking about other personal situations, such as number of children and if you anticipate caring for elderly parents in the future.Profile Screen.jpg
A mobile version is scheduled for later this year.
Philanthropy
Because HelloWallet believes in helping people at all income levels, it has pledged to give away one subscription to a low-income family for every five purchased. To help identify deserving families who qualify for a free subscription, it maintains community partnerships with the following non-profit organizations:
  • The Center for Economic Progress: Assists hard working, low-income families reach financial stability.
  • The Community Builders: Builds homes and communities for low-wage families and individuals.
  • Community Renewal International: Restores communities through personal relationships. 
  • EARN: Provides low-income working families with tools to help them achieve financial goals.
To see it in action, check out HelloWallet’s Finovate Spring 2011 demo. 
—————————————————————————————————————————————
*HelloWallet’s average employer partner workforce is 50k employees where the average take-up rate is about 20% after six months. It expects to serve 600,000 employees by the end of the year. Thus, since employees log in once a week on average, the actual web traffic varies substantially from the compete.com graph. 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Alumni News — Week of June 13, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: AcceptEmail, Balance, BancVue, BankOns, BillShrink, BrightScope, CheckFree, ClairMail, Doxo, Dwolla, Enloop, eRollover, eWise, Kiboo, Lending Club, mFoundry, Mitek, Monitise, peerTransfer, Prosper, SafetyPay, SmartyPig, Tagit, ThreatMetrix, Tyfone

Thumbnail image for AlumNewsIMG.jpg
AcceptEmail
AcceptEmail partnered with WorldPay to launch an e-billing and online payment service. Link
Balance
GeekWire interviewed Balance Financial CEO, Devin Miller. Link
BancVue
BancVue executives won Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Link
BankOns
Examiner.com referred to BankOns as the new GroupOn. Link
billshrinkLOGO.jpg
BillShrink
BillShrink was featured in The New York Times. Link
BrightScope
Forbes reported on BrightScope’s list of exchange-traded funds held in America’s 401k plans. Link

CheckFree
CheckFree expanded its functionality to support account-to-account and peer-to-peer transfers. Link
Clairmail

ClairMail.jpg
Clairmail joined the RSA Secured Partner Program to provide secure access to mobile banking. Link
doxo
  • doxo CEO explained paperless billing in a video interview, highlighting the mobile app. Link
  • doxo was featured on the Top Productivity Apps website. Link
  • Northwest Innovation reviewed doxo’s mobile app. Link
Dwolla
TechCrunch reported that Dwolla hit a milestone of $1M in transactions per week. Link
Enloop
  • Business News Daily interviewed Enloop CEO, Cynthia McCahon, about creating a “living business plan”. Link
  • Huffington Post spotlighted Enloop. Link
eRollover
eRollover launched an online solution for financial advisors to grow practices. Link

eWiseThumbnail image for eWise.jpg

eWise announced its partnership with Affirmative Technologies to speed the adoption of
alternative payment methods. Link
Kiboo
Kiboo launched a public site called “Know Your Money”.  Link
Lending Club
  • Lending Club posted a video of their five-word acceptance speech at the Webby Awards. Link
  • The Wall Street Journal noted Lending Club as leading the way in P2P lending. Link
mFoundry
  • mFoundry helped Starbucks build an app for Android. Link
  • mFoundry passed the 400 customer milestone. Link
Mitek
Mitek’s mobile check deposit was cited as the number one feature that would cause you to switch banks. Link
Monitise
  • ComputerWeekly discussed the survey Monitise conducted on mobile banking. Link
  • Forbes discussed Monitises’ deal with Visa. Link
peerTransfer
  • peerTransfer is hosting a free webinar on international student payment processing this Wednesday, June 22. Link
  • peerTransfer won the Innovation Award from Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange. Link
ProsperThumbnail image for Prosper.jpg
  • Prosper announced that it is giving away an iPad2 to new investors. Link
  • The Wall Street Journal noted Prosper as leading the way in P2P lending. Link
SafetyPay
SafetyPay was selected by BorderJump as its preferred payment solution for cross border transactions. Link
SmartyPig
Fox Business News suggested using SmartyPig.com as a tool to help “pump up” savings. Link
Tagit 
Tagit helped Commonwealth Bank launch its first mobile app. Link
ThreatMetrix
  • ThreatMetrix announced its cloud-based fraud prevention platform. Link
  • ThreatMetrix launched “ThreatMetrix Fraud Facts,” a free downloadable report. Link
Tyfone
  • Tyfone was awarded an NFC over-the-air and over-the-wire seminal patent. Link
  • American Banker reviewed Tyfone’s mobile payment patent. Link
  • NFC Rumors looked at how Tyfone uses SD cards to enable NFC transactions. Link

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Alumni News — Week of June 6, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Andera, ChargeSmart, Check Point, Currensee, Doxo, Dwolla, Enloop, Expensify, FreeMonee, FTRANS, GoalMine, Jemstep, mFoundry, Mitek, Monitise, Prosper, Robot Dough, SecondMarket, Silver Tail Systems, Striata, Sybase 365, ThreatMetrix, TradeKing, UBank, Zopa
Thumbnail image for AlumNewsIMG.jpg
Andera
  • Andera launched FortiFI, a new fraud prevention system. Link 
  • Andera CEO Charlie Kroll discussed the release of FortiFI. Link 
ChargeSmart
  • ChargeSmart launched ChargeSmart Direct to provide customers with additional access to support staff. Link 
  • Fox Business News highlighted ChargeSmart and PlasticJungle’s gift card trading service as a way to make savings fun. Link   
Check Point Software Technologies 
Check Point announced the 2012 version of ZoneAlarm. Link 
Currensee 

Currensee.jpg

  • Forex Crunch outlined the benefits of Currensee, describing its profitability as “significantly high”. Link 
  • The Street highlighted Curensee as a startup that “rocks” the financial house. Link 
doxo
  • Chicago Tribune discussed doxo’s step toward a paperless society. Link 
  • TechCrunch & VentureBeat featured the launch of doxo’s mobile app, a mobile digital filing cabinet. Link  and Link 
  • Macworld took a closer look at doxo’s new app. Link   
Dwolla

Dwolla.jpg

  • Dwolla released Grid, a feature that protects personal user information. Link 
  • The Street highlighted Dwolla as a startup that “rocks” the financial house. Link 
  • The Next Web interviewed Dwolla about its API. Link 
Enloop 
StartUp Beat profiled Enloop. Link
eWise 
eWise raised $14 million in funding. Link
Expensify 

Expensify.jpg

CNNMoney named Expensify as one of five best apps for businesses. Link
FreeMonee 
CardTrak.com examined FreeMonee’s gift network. Link
Ftrans 
Ftrans raised $650,000 in equity financing. Link
GoalMine 
GoalMine won The Core Underbanked Innovators Challenge at the 6th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum hosted by Core Innovation Capital. Link
Jemstep 

Jemstep.jpg

Jemstep launched a new version of its service that features many improvements. Link
mFoundry 
The Washington Post reported that mFoundry’s mobile deposit service is its most requested feature. Link
Mitek
  • Mitek Systems was granted 4 more patents for its mobile deposit feature. Link 
  • Bank Technology News discussed Mitek’s new patents. Link 
Monitise
  • Monitise launched its services in India. Link 
  • The Wall Street Journal covered Monitise’s 5-year agreement with Visa. Link 
  • TechCrunch examined Monitise’s recent deal with Visa. Link  
Prosper 
Prosper raised $17.5 million in funding from investors. Link
RobotDough
The Street highlighted RobotDough as a startup that “rocks” the financial house. Link

SecondMarket 
CNBC interviewed Barry Silbert, CEO of SecondMarket, regarding its role in IPOs. Link
Silver Tail Systems 
Silver Tail Systems raised $20M in a Series B funding round. Link

Striata 
Striata partnered with POCiT to enable bill payments. Link
Sybase 
Sybase was named the most successful database software vendor in China. Link
ThreatMetrix  

Thumbnail image for ThreatMetrix.jpg

ThreatMetrix collaborated with USA ePay to provide fraud prevention to online retailers. Link
TradeKing 
TradeKing partnered with CoolTrade for automatic stock trades. Link
UBank 
UBank voiced that it will change the banking industry by using the web and mobile technology. Link
Zopa 

Thumbnail image for zopa.jpg

BBC’s Radio 2 interviewed Zopa CEO Giles Andrews about P2P lending. Link 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

What’s Inside eWise’s Secure Vault Payments?

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: eWise
Have you ever cringed when entering credit card information into an online checkout form? 

Thumbnail image for eWise.jpg

Maybe you were wondering, “Who is on the other side of this transaction? Where is my information going? How do I know this is secure?” It can also be tedious keying in all of the information, especially on a mobile: credit card number, password, user name, and CVV code. Fortunately, there are solutions such as Secure Vault Payments (SVP) by eWise to help solve these problems.

Thumbnail image for SVP Logo.jpgSVP launched in late 2009 as a new player in alternative payment solutions. It allows you to pay for goods and services directly through your online bank account. There are close to 50 banks (and counting) participating in SVP’s service and with US Bank as a new partner in this service, the availability has increased dramatically.

How It Works
  1. When checking out at a participating retailer, select the Secure Vault Payment option (see image) and choose your bank from the drop down list. SVP1.jpg
  2. SVP will redirect you to your bank where you log in using your existing username and password. 
  3. Select the account (i.e., savings, checking) from which you would like the money to be drawn and confirm the payment. You will then be redirected to your receipt on the retailer’s page. 
What’s In It for Consumers? 
  • No need to maintain an account with a third party:
    Since SVP works with your existing bank (current clients are US Bank, First Citizens Bank, and many more*) there is no need to set up an account somewhere else. This also removes the headache of remembering an additional username and password. 
  • Security you can trust:
    Since the transaction takes place at your bank’s website and not a third party, it removes the middleman and improves perceived security. 
  • Familiar user interface:
    You already know how to navigate your bank’s website, so there’s no need to learn a different interface.

What’s In It for Banks? 
  • Be a trusted advisor: 
    Being in the center of a transaction allows you to build rapport with clients. 
  • Earn additional revenue: 
    Both the consumer’s and the merchant’s banks receive a fee for authenticating the user.
Another PayPal? 
While there are many similarities between the two, such as security, the ability to pay directly

Thumbnail image for SVP2.jpg

from your bank account, and no merchant storage of account information, there are two major differences. 
  1. During a purchase, SVP directs you to your bank’s website (see image on right). 
  2. The bank controls the payment, stores the payment information, and handles dispute resolution. 
SVP is innovating on a number of fronts including a mobile app that incorporates the use of quick response (QR) codes in a payment system. To see a demo of the QR code payment system in action, visit Finovate.com. It also has other capabilities, such as providing an on-demand donation platform for non-profits. For a more in-depth look at this and other features, check out its website. 
———————————————————————————————————————-
* Other Participating banks include: AFB&T, Bank of Coweta, Bank of North Georgia, Cambridge Trust Company (Cambridge, MA), CB and T Bank of East Alabama, CB and T Bank of Middle GA, Citizens First Bank (Rome, GA), Coastal Bank and Trust of Florida, Cohutta Banking Company, Columbus Bank and Trust, Commercial Bank (Thomasville, GA), Commercial Bank and, Trust Company (LaGrange, GA), Community Bank and Trust (Enterprise, AL), First Coast, Community Bank, First Commercial Bank (Birmingham, AL), First Commercial Bank of Huntsville, First Community Bank (Tifton, GA), First Bank of Jasper, First State Bank and Trust Company (Valdosta, GA), Georgia Bank and Trust, Savings Bank of Maine, SB&T Bank, Sea Island Bank, Sterling Bank (Montgomery, AL), Synovus Bank (St. Petersburg, FL), Synovus Bank of Jacksonville,, The Bank of Nashville, The Bank of Tuscaloosa, Coastal Bank and Trust (Mobile, AL), The Coastal, Bank of Georgia, NBSC, Tallahassee State Bank, Trust One Bank (Memphis, TN), United Western Bank (Denver, CO)

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Big Funding Week for Finovate Alumni

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: eWise, Prosper, Silver Tail Systems
This week, three Finovate alumni reached significant funding milestones.  


eWise.jpg






New round
$14 million Series B from Wellington Partners, Balderton Capital, TTV Capital, and Patagorang 
Funding History
$12.1 million Series A in July 2010
Previous Investors
Balderton Capital, Stanley S. Shuman of Allen & Co., and Total Technology Ventures 
Profile
Market Position: Online Payments and Personal Financial Management
Founded: 1999
Locations: Denver, London, Australia, and China
Description 
eWise creates payment and financial management solutions for financial institutions including:
  • eWise Pay By Account 
  • eWise Pay Anyone 
  • eWise Account Aggregation
  • eWise Personal Financial Manager 
  • eWise eAuthentication
For more information on eWise’s innovations, see their FinovateEurope 2011 and FinovateSpring 2011 demos.
Prosper.jpg





New Round 
$17.2 million from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Crosslink Capital, Accel Partners, CompuCredit, Omidyar Network, Eric Schmidt’s TomorrowVentures and Volition Capital 
Funding History
$7.5 million Series A in April 2005
$12.5 million Series B in February 2006
$20 million Series C in June 2007
$14.5 million Series D in April 2010
Previous Investors 
Accel Partners, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Eric Schmidt
Fidelity Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, Omidyar Network, QED Investors, and TomorrowVentures
Profile
Market Position: Peer-to-peer Lending
Founded: 2006
Location: San Francisco, CA
Description 
Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending site with over one million members, has funded $236 million in personal loans. To see Prosper in action, check out their FinovateStartup 2007, FinovateStartup 2008, and FinovateStartup 2009 demos. 
SilverTailSystems.jpg






New Round
$20 million Series B funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Leapfrog Ventures, Seraph Group, and Startup Capital Ventures
Funding History
$2.1 million Series A in September 2008

Previous Investors
Leapfrog Ventures, Seraph Group, Startup Capital Ventures
Profile
Market Position: Security
Founded: 2008
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Description
Silver Tail Systems’ products detect online and mobile fraud, help investigate possible attacks, and prevent future attacks. To learn more about Silver Tail Systems’ innovative fraud detection, check out their FinovateStartup 2009, Finovate 2009, FinovateSpring 2010, FinovateFall 2010, FinovateEurope 2011, and FinovateSpring 2011 demos.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Alumni News — Week of May 30, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Betterment, BrightScope, ChargeSmart, Check Point, ClairMail, Corduro, Credit Sesame, Currensee, Doxo, Dwolla, Enloop, Geezeo, Guardian Analytics, HelloWallet, Hidden Levers, Lending Club, Lendio, PayNearMe, Prosper, Robot Dough, SecondMarket, Simple Tuition, Sybase 365, TradeKing, Tyfone, UBank
Finovate_Alumni_news.jpg
Betterment
Medill Reports discussed the benefits of Betterment and Currensee, claiming that the social networking craze changes the way some people invest. Link
BrightScope
BrightScope announced the top 10 treasury inflation protected securities funds in America’s 401ks. Link
ChargeSmart

ChargeSmart.jpg

Fox News’ Studio 10 reviewed ChargeSmart, PlasticJungle, and Bills.com and found a number of money saving tools and ideas. Link
Check Point Software Technologies
Check Point Software Technologies won The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2011 Award from The Association of Support Professionals for its exceptional web support design, implementation, and customer experience. Link
ClairMail
ClairMail announced record customer expansion with a 300% year-over-year growth in users. Link
Corduro

Corduro.jpg

The New York Times reported that Corduro’s cloud platform challenges PayPal and Square’s mobile payment services. Link
Credit Sesame
The Wisdom Journal depicted Credit Sesame’s services as more than just credit scores. Link
Currensee
See Betterment above.
doxo
  • doxo explained how to use its online filing cabinet and “due date” alerts to help organize GroupOn, Living Social, and other daily deals. Link
  • TheFinancialBrand.com discussed Oregon Federal Credit Union’s use of doxo and discussed other usage ideas such as uploading a scan of your passport prior to travelling. Link
Dwolla 
  • Credit Union Times listed Dwolla as a contender in the P2P payment space. Link
  • Dwolla rallied community efforts to gather donations for the tornado-stricken town of Joplin by selling its t-shirts and accepting donations. Link
  • Omaha World-Herald covered Dwolla’s arrival into Nebraska. Link
Enloop

Enloop.jpg

  • About.com highlighted Enloop’s business plan creation service. Link
  • Forbes blog discussed “How Not to Fail” by using Enloop to assess the potential success of a business plan. Link
Geezeo
Call Federal Credit Union, based in Richmond, VA, selected Geezeo for its PFM solution. Link
Guardian Analytics
Guardian Analytics positioned by Gartner in the “Visionary” quadrant for web fraud detection. Link
HelloWallet

HelloWallet.jpg

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom urged residents to improve their money management by using HelloWallet. For every five subscriptions purchased, HelloWallet will give away one subscription to a family in need. Link
Hidden Levers
Financial Advisor Blog discussed using Hidden Levers to build better portfolios, highlighting risk management and accuracy of the service. Link
Lending Club
  • Lending Club exceeded a quarter million dollars in cumulative loans and is offering cash bonuses. Link
  • Wall Street Journal blog discussed growth of P2P Lending sites Prosper and Lending Club. Link
Lendio

Lendio.jpg

Lendio raised $2 million in debt financing. Link
PayNearMe
PayNearMe founder Danny Shader, in an interview with Vator News, revealed the service is used beyond the unbanked population, including teens who prefer to pay with cash and consumers who would like to keep their online transactions private. Link
Prosper
See Lending Club above.
RobotDough

RobotDough.jpg

Dow Jones Financial reports that a UCLA professor backed RobotDough. Link
SecondMarket
The Washington Business Journal discussed SecondMarket’s recent popularity. Link
Sybase

Sybase.jpg

Sybase launched the M-Commerce Guide, a publication for examining global market opportunities for mobile network operators, advisors, and FIs. Link
TradeKing
TradeKing CIO Dan Raju discussed security issues that may arise with the NYSE cloud community, citing its security. Link
Tyfone
Tyfone contracted with Star One Credit Union to use its NFC technology.
 Link

UBank

UBank.jpg

CEO of UBank examined security concerns and competitors during an interview with ZDNet. Link

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Cash is Still King at PayNearMe

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: PayNearMe
Imagine this scenario: You’d like to visit a friend who lives three hours out of town but

2011-06-02_11-16-55.jpg

your car is in the shop so you need to take the train. To purchase the ticket ahead of time, you’d like to pay online or over the phone instead of at the Amtrak station. But here’s the kicker– you don’t have a credit or debit card. How are you supposed to buy the ticket if you can only pay with cash? The solution is easy, and it’s called PayNearMe.
Founded by Danny Shader in 2009, PayNearMe is a Mountain View, CA-based company that 
enables consumers to buy online and pay offline at 7-Eleven stores. 
Using this service, consumers can pay off loans with cash, purchase goods from other retailers, and even pay for services such as transportation. To get a better idea of more possibilities, see PayNearMe’s FinovateFall 2010 and FinovateSpring 2011 demos, both of which won Best of Show awards.

Why use PayNearMe?
    • You do not have a credit or debit card (24% of U.S. households)
    • You prefer to pay with cash (most teens and 54% of adults) 
    • You do not want to divulge personal information online
    • You would like to repay a loan with cash
How it Works
Imagine you want to purchase a book that’s for sale online, but don’t have (or don’t want to use) a debit or credit card.  
You can use PayNearMe to purchase the book online using an Amazon gift card. It’s a three-step process: 
1) Complete the online form at the PayNearMe website.
Choose Merchants (step one in the visual below), select Amazon as the retailer (step two), and answer these questions: 
    • Gift card amount
    • Email addressThumbnail image for Step1n2.jpg
    • Zip code
    • Password
Then choose whether to pay with or without a printer. If going paperless, enter a mobile phone number and within seconds receive the following text message:

text1.4.png
2) Go to 7-Eleven. 

Use PayNearMe’s website to locate a nearby 7-Eleven store and, once inside, find the PayNearMe cards on the rack (see example at end of post). Following the instructions in the text message, 

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for text4.png

reply with the nine-digit code. 
A follow-up message will appear seconds later: 
Thumbnail image for text2.2.png

You can pay the cashier with a $20 bill and ask her to load the money onto the card. After she swipes the card and processes the payment, she’ll hand you a receipt along with the card. You’ll then receive a final text message:
Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for text3.1.png

3) Use the claim code. 
The receipt prompts you to visit www.amazon.com/gc and enter the claim code listed on the 

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for GCclaimcode.jpg

receipt (see below). Login with your Amazon account, ensure the payment is loaded into the system, and click Apply to Your Account. The $20 is loaded into your account so you can find the book and pay for it with the $20 gift card balance. 
Analysis
I like that this is a completely free service for consumers; $20 in your wallet translates into $20 in your Amazon account. There are no hidden fees or surcharges. In addition to this, the PayNearMe card is reusable so you don’t need to pick up a new one each time you use the service.
On the flipside, Amazon doesn’t offer PayNearMe as one of its default payment choices so you have to start the transaction through the PayNearMe website. While this is an additional step in the process, it still makes it easy to pay for goods and services using cash.
PayNearMe card and receipt
Card and receipt.png

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Alumni News — Week of May 23, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Aptys Solutions, Backbase, Betterment, Bill.com, Boku, Capital Access Network, Credit Karma, Doxo, Dwolla, edo Interactive, Expensify, Kabbage, Lending Club, LendingKarma, Lendio, Lodo Software, Monitise, Mortgagebot, PayDivvy, PayNearMe, peerTransfer, ProfitStars, Robot Dough, SecondMarket, Smarty Pig, Striata, ThreatMetrix, TILE Financial, TradeKing, Tyfone, Wikinvest, Wonga, Xero, Zecco, Zopa

Thumbnail image for Finovate_Alumni_news.jpg

Aptys Solutions
Aptys Solutions signed with Banker’s Bank, a top check depositor with the Federal Reserve Link

Backbase
Backbase to host webinar on how to use social media in financial services Link

Betterment

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Betterment.jpg

  • Betterment announced a growth of over $10M under management and over 4000 customers in first year Link
  • Betterment celebrated its first birthday Link

Bill.com
Bill.com is working to improve its mobile offering for small and midsized businesses Link

Boku
Mobile Entertainment explained how Boku will revolutionize pay-by-mobile for digital goods Link

Capital Access Network
CNBC explained how Capital Access Network solves the need to use financial creativity Link

Credit Karma
WiseBread Blog interviewed Credit Karma CEO Link

doxo

doxo.jpg

  • doxo’s first fan video was posted online Link
  • Oregon employees were the first to give its members doxo’s online file cabinet Link
  • TechFlash highlighted the benefits of using doxo to achieve paperless business Link
  • 2Minute Finance interviewed doxo at FinovateSpring Link

Dwolla

  • Dwolla was listed by inc Tech as one of three startups you must know from Big Omaha Link
  • Credit Union Times listed Dwolla as a new P2P service rivaling ‘bank giants’ Link

edo Interactive
MyBankTracker interviewed edo Interactive COO about its Prewards service Link

Expensify
Slate explained how Expensify will help the ‘frequent flier’ Link

Kabbage.jpg

Kabbage
Technorati described how Kabbage works with eBay Link

Lending Club

  • Mint.com’s blog covered what you need to know about Lending Club Link
  • San Francisco Business Times commented on Lending Club’s strong backing from both investors and lenders Link
  • San Francisco Times reported that Lending Club stated it is not planning to go public for several years Link

LendingKarma
Entrepreneur featured LendingKarma as a good tool to use when borrowing money from family or friends Link

Lendio
San Francisco Chronicle reported that Lendio offers funding opportunities for new grads Link

Lodo Software
Lodo Software was described as a startup providing jobs in the “Silicon Prairie” region, a.k.a. Omaha Link

lodo.jpg

Monitise
Monitise released a report predicting that the majority of consumers will use mobile money services within the next three years Link

Mortgagebot
Mortgagebot reached 1000 clients, one of its goals from the beginning Link

PayDivvy
2MinuteFinanced interviewed PayDivvy about its services Link

paydivvy.jpg

PayNearMe
BillShrink examined PayNearMe’s cash payment service Link

peerTransfer
Mass High Tech interviewed Iker Marcaide from peerTransfer about becoming an entrepreneur Link

Thumbnail image for ProfitStars.jpg

ProfitStars
ProfitStars announced a new version of Margin Maximizer that’s now available as a hosted solution Link

Robot Dough
2MiniuteFinance toured RobotDough’s demo during interview at Finovate Spring Link

SecondMarket

  • Wall Street Journal stated that SecondMarket helped fuel the tech boom Link
  • CNBC interviewed SecondMarket for an explanation of the change in trading numbers Link and LinkThumbnail image for smartypig.jpg

Smarty Pig
Smarty Pig launched new sharing features, including activity sharing and goal sharing Link

Striata
Striata will host a June 2 webinar for implementing successful ebilling strategies Link

ThreatMetrix
San Francisco Chronicle covered ThreatMetrix’s research around mobile transaction activity Link

TILE Financial
TILE Financial released a Financial Identity Profile to strengthen the connection between advisors and under-30 consumers Link

tradeking.jpg

TradeKing
TradeKing divulged the lineup of its free webinars in June Link

Tyfone
Tyfone won 2010 Asia Pacific Smart Card Association Award for its NFC innovation and implementation Link

Wikinvest
Dow Jones Advisor highlighted Wikinvest as a way to analyze portfolios Link

Wonga

  • Wonga won 2011 Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award for exceptional accomplishments Link
  • Wonga won the Media Momentum Awards, a coveted award for digital media companies in Europe Link
  • Wonga’s Errol Damelin discussed consumer-centric credit Link

Xero

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for xero.jpg

  • Diversity Limited commented on Xero’s move to the US markets Link
  • Xero and Keebo teamed up to help you manage and process receipts Link
  • New Zealand Herald commented on Xero’s surging revenue Link

Zecco

  • The Wall Street Journal reviewed Zecco’s new Facebook app Link
  • Zecco launched an app for stock trades & viewing realtime market data on Facebook Link

Zopa
Zopa shows how it helps consumers protect against inflation Link

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Spend Grow Give: TILE Financial’s New Learning Environment

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: TILE Financial
TILElogo.jpg

During FinovateSpring last week, I spent a lot of time talking with demoing companies about their new products and services. I was impressed by the overall utility of the products and the friendliness of the entrepreneurs. Over the next few months, I’ll be profiling a number of the companies that presented last week. 
Amy Butte, former CFO of the New York Stock Exchange, founded NYC-based TILE Financial in 2008 with a goal to help financial institutions hold onto the $1.5 trillion in assets projected to be inherited during the next 10 to 15 years.  
Thumbnail image for WhatMoneyMeans2Me.jpg
TILE seeks to help young adults establish a financial identity, learn to follow a budget, and understand financial terms and concepts. It’s also meant to facilitate a dialogue with their parents, grandparents or other funder, and their financial advisor. 
Through TILE’s Spend Grow Give interface, the topics of money and finance are expected to transition from taboo to comfortable subjects. The unique user-interface is very visual, perfect for the target audience of 15 to 25-year-olds.  
How it works
Homepage: 
  • Account Overview
    After logging in, I see an overview of my account divided into three categories: 
Thumbnail image for SpendGrowGive.jpg
Each contains a pie chart of my spending, investments and charitable contributions. Please note that the Grow category is empty because I am using a test account without investments.
  • Reference Bar
    Pictured below, this feature has eight tabs and is located at the bottom of the user interface (see homepage screenshot at end of post). My favorite tab is TILEcasts, a unique reference tool that contains video clips of experts talking about subjects such as, “Here’s Why You Need Insurance.” The clips break down complex financial issues into bite-sized pieces with digestible language. 
Thumbnail image for RefBar.jpg
  • Alerts
    The interface includes customized alerts such as portfolio changes, budget limit approaches, and so on. Alerts are delivered via the TILE site, email, or text message.
Profile Page: 
  • My Profile
    At first glance, the profile appears similar to Facebook. I can upload my picture, update my status, and share with the TILE community, my financial advisor, my funder (i.e., parent/grandparent), Twitter, or Facebook.
Profile.jpg
  • Features
    The main part of the profile page is My Financial Identity, which features the homepage categories: Spending, Growing, and Giving, as detailed below. Each contains quizzes and tutorials that allow the user to understand what money means to them. TILE refers to this as a person’s “financial identity.”
– Spending

Here, I can see how well I know my budget. I take a quiz to test my knowledge of how much I spend on certain categories and am guided through a tutorial to help adjust 

monthly spending habits. Another lesson teaches the basics of establishing credit.Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for BudgetQuizIntro.jpg

– Growing 

In this section I can learn when to start investing, how to time financial 

markets, and take a risk profile assessment. There is an easy-to-use calculator that inputs age, investment 

graph.jpg

amount, and interest (see graph on the right) to show growth over time.
– Giving
This area features a quiz to help me discover causes I really care about and would allocate charitable giving to.  It requires much thought and in the end helped me create my own mission statement. 
My user experience documented here covers only a small section of what is available in TILE’s Spend Grow Give product. To see it in action, stay tuned to www.finovate.com to check out TILE’s demo that will be posted in the next few weeks.
TILEfullScreen.jpgHomepage View

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Alumni News — Week of May 16, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Bill.com, BrightScope, ClairMail, eRollover, Finantix, Intuit, iPay Technologies, Kapitall, Kashoo, On Deck Capital, Outright.com, SecondMarket, TradeKing, Wonga
Finovate_Alumni_news.jpg

Bill.com
Practical Ecommerce listed Bill.com as 1 of 19 tools for online bookkeeping and invoicing Link


BrightScope
BrightScope announced the top 10 commodities funds held in America’s 401k plans Link
Frazier & Deeter, FD Alliance, BrightScope and SignatureFD conducted a national webinar on BrightScope’s tool that rates employee benefit plans. Link 
ClairMail

ClairMail.jpg

ClairMail reported record growth with a record number of customer acquisitions and a 300% increase in user growth Link  
eRollover
eRollover announced its Facebook Early Retirement Vacation Sweepstakes Link
Finantix
Wealth Management 360 highlighted Finantix’s Finovate Europe demo Link

Intuit
Intuit reported an increase of internet banking users by 9% and bill pay users by 23% Link
iPay Technologies

iPayTechnologies.jpg

iPay Technologies reached 1 Million users of its P2P electronic payment service, with almost 8 million payments processed to date Link
Kapitall
Kapitall implemented an alert system for current news on stocks and funds. These new alerts will keep users informed and will link directly to Kapitall’s analytical tools for a quick understanding of changes. Link
Kashoo

kashoo.jpg

Practical Ecommerce listed Kashoo as 1 of 19 tools for online bookkeeping and invoicing  Link
Kashoo was selected by IDC as one of Canada’s Top 10 cloud companies to watch Link

On Deck Capital
Tech Crunch reported On Deck Capital’s announcement of the On Deck Score, a credit score for small businesses. This program seeks to fix the problem of businesses borrowing money as consumers http://tcrn.ch/kNjGX6 Link
Outright.com
Practical Ecommerce listed Outright.com as 1 of 19 tools for online bookkeeping and invoicing Link

SecondMarket 
SecondMarket experienced $115M in private stock sales during Q1 Link

TradeKing
TradeKing ranked number four in customer service for the second consecutive year in the Annual Broker Survey by Wall Street Journal’s magazine, SmartMoney Link 
Wonga

wonga.jpg

Wired UK mag covered Wonga’s disruptive process of making borrowing money completely automatic. Are they transforming personal finance? Link
Wonga should have won of Startup 100 Awards, not Spotify Link

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateFall: Last Chance to Save $300 on Sep. 20-21 Event

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FinovateFall 2011

image Thanks to everyone who made FinovateSpring a success just a week ago (my Twitter transcript here). But innovation doesn’t stand still, so we are already collecting applications and selling tickets for FinovateFall in New York City.

In fact, if you want to save on your fall ticket, register by the end of the day Friday (May 20) to receive $300 off regular ticket prices. Based on early results, it could be the biggest Finovate yet.

Last year, the conference expanded to two days (selling out 3 weeks in advance) and the audience loved it. Once again, each day will be packed with our unique blend of short, fast-paced onstage demos (no slides allowed) and intimate networking time with top executives from the demoing companies.  With each company receiving just 7 minutes onstage, FinovateFall is the only place to see dozens of fintech innovations in such a short period of time.

So make sure you are part of the excitement at the fifth annual NYC Finovate on Sep. 20 & 21, and save $300, by registering today!

——————————————————–

Last year’s presenters (FinovateFall 2010)

FinovateFall demos

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook