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Finovate Alumni News– December 22, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 22, 2011
Categories: CashStar, Dwolla, PayPal, Zecco

Best Buy Canada & Future Shop are the 1st major retailers in Canada to offer eGift Cards via CashStar. The Street interviews Zecco CEO, Michael Raneri. Fox News interviews Dwolla CEO Ben Milne about the startup's business model. PayPal partners with Fandango to allow users to purchase movie tickets using PayPal. 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.

Holiday Promotions at the Top-20 U.S. Banks

By Jim Bruene Posted on December 21, 2011
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, BB&T Bank, Chase Bank, Holiday promotions, ING Direct, Key Bank, PNC Bank, TD Bank

Since I began blogging in 2004, I've usually run a year-end post looking at the holiday marketing efforts of the top-20 U.S. banks (links below). This year, only 7 of the 20 banks are using holiday or seasonal imagery on their homepages. That's a decrease of 3 over last year.

As usual, PNC Bank is the gold standard for holiday bank promotions, with its long-running (25+ years) "cost of Christmas index" which quantifies the cost of procuring all the items mentioned in the famous song, "12 Days of Christmas." Following is a quick overview of the promotions, including a 1-to 5-bulb rating.

Previous posts: 2010, 2009 part 1, 2009 part 2, 2007, 2006, 2006, 2004

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Big banks in the holiday spirit
(rated 1 to 5 bulbs)

PNC: Christmas cost index

Cost of Christmas based on the song 12 Days of Christmas

Score:

Homepage

…

HelloWallet Gives Away 20,000 Free Subscriptions in 2011 to Families In Need

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 21, 2011
Categories: HelloWallet

Subscription-based PFM, HelloWallet, announced yesterday that it donated 20,000 free subscriptions to its PFM service in 2011:

"As part of their charitable mission to give away 1 free subscription for every 5 sold, online financial guidance company HelloWallet announced today that they have donated 20,000 free subscriptions to community organizations that serve families in need across the country in 2011..."

The goal of the donations is to provide families in need with a tool to better plan their finances. Based on the deals it recently signed, the startup estimates that it will give away 40,000 free subscriptions in 2012.

To learn more about HelloWallet, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

Linkable Networks Partners with Mphoria, Becomes Mobile in First App

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 21, 2011
Categories: Linkable Networks

Today, card-linked offer innovator Linkable Networks (formerly CLOVR Media) announced a partnership with mphoria, a mobile and social merchandising platform:

"This agreement will transform retail deals available on the mobile web and via mobile apps into linkable offers." The startup also announced that CardStar will be the first mobile app to feature its card-linked offer technology: "Both partnerships mark the launch of the Linkables mobile API and the first mobile deployment for the card linked offer industry. Now any type of restaurant, service provider, retailer or brand may capitalize on card linked offers in a mobile environment."

The two developments bring Linkable Networks into the mobile environment and allow retailers and service providers to benefit from mobile card-linked offers.

To learn more about Linkable Networks, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

Finovate Alumni News– December 21, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 21, 2011
Categories: Check Point, Expensify, HelloWallet, Lending Club, Linkable Networks, Ping Identity, Prosper, Simple, Xero

Fox News discusses how Prosper & Lending Club help small businesses. The Chicago Tribune profiles Simple. BizReport examines card-linked offers from Linkable Networks (formerly CLOVR Media). Check Point announces Anti-Bot Software. ReadWriteWeb's Richard MacManus lists Xero as #8 in his 2011 list of top 10 web products. Inc Magazine lists Expensify as 1 of 8 startups to watch in 2012. Ping Identity makes the top 10 list of most exciting IT security vendors. Come see Ping Identity's live demo at FinovateEurope. HelloWallet gives away 20,000 free subscriptions in 2011 to families in need. 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.

The Demise of the Branch (for real)

By Jim Bruene Posted on December 20, 2011
Categories: Branch Banking, Strategies

In Demise of the Branch, a report we published in April 2006, we opined that the branch's influence in retail banking had peaked. But it was perhaps a bit premature. It turned out that strong retail banking revenues (for example, interchange and overdrafts from the massive uptick in debit card usage) would fund the overbuilt branch network for a few more years.

But the good times are over, at least from a brick-and-mortar perspective (see note 1). And as much as I feel for the tens of thousands who will lose jobs, based on my personal experience, I am OK saying good riddance to the branch. While the people I've encountered have been super friendly when I hand over deposits, when there has been even the slightest complication, the experience has ranged from poor to abysmal.

And it wasn't that the people were uncaring or unintelligent.…

ProfitStars Announces Availability of Mobile Website Platform

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 20, 2011
Categories: ProfitStars

Jack Henry's ProfitStars, a provider of products and services to financial institutions, announced the availability of its Mobile Website platform today:

"Mobile Website supports a rapidly expanding banking channel with websites developed specifically for smaller screens and on-the-go functionality while also maintaining the consistent look and ease of navigation that customers demand."

ProfitStars hopes that the Mobile Website will provide an affordable and user-friendly way for financial institutions of all sizes to expand to a mobile-optimized website.

To learn more about ProfitStars, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

Check Point Software Technologies Positioned in Gartner’s Leader Quadrant

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 20, 2011
Categories: Check Point

Online security company Check Point Software Technologies announced yesterday that it was positioned in the Leaders quadrant of Gartner's 2011 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant aims to recognize technology providers who are leaders, visionaries, niche players and challengers in high market growth industries. Leaders are defined as those who, "execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow."

Here are the other players in the Enterprise Network Firewalls category:

(Source: Check Point website December 20, 2011)

To learn more about Check Point Software Technologies, watch its Finovate 2008 demo.

Kony Solutions Wins 2 First Place Awards in the Mobile Star Awards

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 20, 2011
Categories: Kony Solutions

Mobile platform provider Kony Solutions announced yesterday that it recently earned two first place awards at MobileVillage.com's 10th annual Mobile Star Awards.

Kony received two SUPERSTAR awards and one Rising Star:

"The KonyOne platform won the SUPERSTAR award in the category "Enterprise Software: Middleware" Developed on Kony's "Write Once, Run Everywhere" platform, the GEICO Glovebox won a SUPERSTAR award in the "Success Story: Banking or Insurance" category The KonyOne platform also won the Rising Star award in the "Enterprise Software: Application Development" category"

The Mobile Star Award winners are selected through nominations and an online voting process in which SUPERSTAR is the first place award and Rising Star is the first runner up.

To learn more about Kony, watch its FinovateFall 2011 demo.

Finovate Alumni News– December 20, 2011

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 20, 2011
Categories: Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, Dwolla, edo Interactive, IDTheft 911, Mortgagebot, Simple, Xero

Steven Kietz, former Mobile Money Ventures CEO, joins EDO Interactive as GM & EVP of Strategic Partnerships. CNNMoney discusses how Simple can provide a no hassle bank account. Melrose Mutual Insurance Company, Grinnell Mutual, & ID Theft 911 partner to remind shoppers to safeguard identities. Forbes names Dwolla's Ben Milne to '30 Under 30' list for finance. BizReport interviews Xero to discover how the cloud is helping small businesses. Fox Business News recommends visiting Credit Sesame and Credit Karma to check your credit score. INOVA FCU depicts its success from using Mortgagebot's PowerSite. 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.

FinovateEurope 2012 Sneak Peek: Part 2

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 19, 2011
Categories: Backbase, Cardlytics, eToro, Fenergo, Figlo, FinovateEurope 2012, Handpoint, Holvi, Meniga, Nutmeg, Ping Identity, Serverside Group, Striata, Tradeshift

As promised last week, here is our second "sneak peak" into the hot young startups and established leading companies that will demo their latest fintech innovations at the second annual FinovateEurope next February 7th in London. As we mentioned in the first sneak peak, we asked each handpicked company to "whet your appetite" by providing a short summary in their own words of the innovation that they will be debuting on stage. We've compiled them below. Don't miss your chance to see fast-paced demos of the newest ideas from each company and meet the execs responsible for the cutting edge of innovation in financial and banking technology. Plus get your FinovateEurope ticket before December 23rd and you'll lock in the early-bird price! _______________________________________________________

Backbase Backbase will be presenting major new features in its Bank 2.0 Portal Manager, focusing on the following key points: Improved editor for page composition…

Tradeshift Signs Deal With French Government

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on December 19, 2011
Categories: Tradeshift

Recently, the French government signed a deal with online invoicing company Tradeshift. One of the government's divisions, ADETEF, plans to implement the London-based startup's invoicing technology:

"ADETEF, which is the international assistance agency of the ministries for economy, budget and sustainable development, will use the company's online platform to connect with suppliers and manage invoices digitally, eliminating the need for manual processing."

This move aligns with The Pan-European Public Procurement Online (PEPPOL) initiative that aims to standardize e-invoicing for the European Union.

To learn more about Tradeshift, come watch its live demo at FinovateEurope February 7, 2012 in London.