Receivables Exchange Launching Auction Platform for Financing Accounts Receivables

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Auction platforms, Launches, Loans & Credit, Receivables Exchange, Small Business

image A new financial market will open Monday where businesses as small as $1.5 million in annual sales can borrow against their receivables with prices set in an auction market.

New Orleans-based The Receivables Exchange opens for trades on Monday (17 Nov) after an 18-month development cycle.

Businesses register with the exchange, a process that entails uploading financial statements and completing an application. The Receivables Exchange conducts due diligence on the potential participant to ensure that it is legitimate.

Businesses must meet the following criteria:

  • Minimum of $1.5 million in annual sales
  • At least 2 years of operating history
  • Registered to do business in the United States

Upon approval, the business can list specific invoices for financing, with a minimum total value of $10,000. Then accredited investors (SEC definition here) bid to provide short-term financing until the receivables are collected. Sellers are encouraged to upload PDF copies of invoices, proof of delivery, and so on to get the best rates. However, many documentation requirements are optional.

Sellers select the terms they are willing to accept and the bidder that beats those terms by the widest margin wins the credit. If no bidder meets the minimum terms, the auction ends without a trade.

Co-founders: Justin A. Brownhill and Nicolas R. Perkin

VC backers: Prism VentureWorks LLC and Fidelity Ventures

Analysis
In an era of tight credit, it's a welcome addition to the financing tools available for small and mid-sized businesses. Larger businesses typically have more options through commercial paper and other capital markets.

The startup expects banks to be valuable sources of referrals. Although, at this point, there are no referral fees or revenue-sharing options.

So far, The Receivables Exchange has signed up sellers with a total of $2 billion in annual sales. And there's been a lot of interest. Founder Nicolas Perkin says his company has been approached by 20 $1+ billion companies.

But what about the other side of the trade, the lender/investor? The company says it has access to $8 billion deployable capital. Of course, that doesn't mean that the capital will be easily enticed into actual deals.

Starting Monday, we'll see what the buy side thinks. Are they willing to risk their capital in the unproven market? If The Receivables Exchange can drive out fraud and deliver on its promises, we think the answer will be yes.

The Receivables Exchange homepage (11 Nov 2008)

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Wells Fargo Uses Splash Screen After Login to Reinforce Safety & Soundness

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Wells Fargo

image The best time to get your customer's attention is right after they log in to look at their account. That's why login-screen marketing should be in your mix (see previous coverage). But, your message is not necessarily welcome at that point, so it's a marketing option best used judiciously.

Wells Fargo makes good use of the technique this month with an open letter from CEO John Stumpf. It's been a while since I logged in to my Wells Fargo account, so I'm not sure it was posted. But it carries an October date, so it was probably later in the month after Wells Fargo prevailed in its bid to buy Wachovia.  

Many financial institutions have posted we-are-still-going-strong messages during the past few months. The Wells Fargo message isn't particularly noteworthy, other than they don't beat around the bush asking, then answering, the question:

What does (the Wachovia acquisition) mean to me as a Wells Fargo customer?

Wells Fargo splash screen displayed immediately after logging in (10 Nov 2008)

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Privier Launches ATMsend, a Promising Idea that Needs Banking Partners

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Alt Payments, Epayments, Launches, Mobile Banking, Mobile Payments

image I've communicated with Privier founder Charles Polanco a number of times over the years. He's a Wachovia alum who's been working on a financial startup for several years. The company launched a suite of payment services on Oct. 16 that aims to get the plastic card out of the ATM business (press release).

Privier's value prop is straightforward and compelling: Enable money transfers from any device at any time with the cash delivered through the worldwide ATM network.

The system initiates transfers in three ways:

  • ATMsend: ATM to ATM
  • iTransfer: Web to ATM 
  • mPayment: Mobile phone to ATM

In Privier's model the ATM card is replaced by a one-time authorization code that recipients key into the ATM to withdraw transferred funds.

Analysis
From a usability perspective, it's a great idea. After all, what's not to like? Consumers need to send cash. ATMs have cash. Why not let folks authorize a remote ATM withdrawal from the comfort of their own home or office. A proposed fee in the $7 range beats most alternatives for long-distance money transfers.

However, from a practical standpoint there are two massive roadblocks to overcome:

  • Retrofitting ATMs to accept a keyed-in code instead of a mag stripe for authentication
  • Convincing banks to add ATM-transfer capabilities to Web, mobile and telephone services

It will likely take an organization the size of Visa, MasterCard, or Bank of America to pull this off. To ensure that those behemoths work with it, Privier has a portfolio of patents pending on the business process. 

What it means for Netbankers
It may take decades, but eventually, the Web married to mobile will eliminate the plastic debit/credit card; however, unless you are a major bank or payments company, this isn't likely anything you need worry about for a number of years.

A better short-term solution for smaller financial institutions is to enable P2P funds transfers using PayPal so you can send money to anyone with a PayPal account (see note 1).

Privier's Web-based interface for sending cash to an ATM (5 Nov 2008)SendCash_Step1

Note:
1. See our latest, the Online Banking Report 2009 Planning Guide, for more info on project priorities for this year and beyond. 

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New Online Banking Report Published: 2009 Planning Guide

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Business Planning, Marketing, Online Banking Report, Planning, Strategic Planning, Strategies

image With the financial crisis still in full swing, it's not easy to concentrate on the 2009 plan. But focus you must.

You can bet that companies emerging from this mess as winners are working overtime right now, plotting how they will grab your market share next year. Yes, budgets will be down, but thanks to the Web and social media, there are more cost-effective opportunities than ever to get your message out.

With that in mind, we offer the latest issue from Online Banking Report, our 14th annual Planning Guide for Online & Mobile Banking (see note 1).  

It includes 72 pages of ideas, tips and tools to help you generate new ideas, plans, and strategies for 2009 and beyond. Subscribers, Online Banking Report subscribers, may download it (here) free of charge. Others may purchase (here).

While more than 500 online banking product and marketing ideas are published in the report, we hand-selected 20 projects for the 2009 hot list (in alpha order):

  • Activity ticker
  • Balance conversions
  • Credit score/report zone
  • Flat-fee mortgage
  • Green banking
  • High-yield deposit accounts
  • Home equity center
  • iPhone/Android native app
  • Long-term archives
  • Micro/small-business services
  • Peer-to-peer loan facilitation
  • Personal finance functionality 
  • Premium/VIP online services
  • Prepaid/gift cards
  • Problem mortgage resource center
  • Retirement center
  • Service standards/guarantees
  • Social media/blogging
  • Usage-based contests/rewards
  • Widgets

Note:
1. The Netbanker blog (established 2004) and Online Banking Report (established 1994), are written and published by the same company.

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Key Bank Runs Timely "Pick Your President" Promotion

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Electronic Bill Payment & Presentment, Electronic Statements, Key Bank

imageOverall, most major financial institutions do a good job with website design. But one thing usually lacking is timely tie-ins with events and holidays. Google is famous for doctoring its logo dozens of times each year to coincide with the national holidays and other big events. For example, for today’s big presidential election, the logo has been changed into a voting booth.

Those efforts, while not always directly driving new business, keep the website fresh and show that the bank is paying attention to the events that impact users day to day. And the best ones can increase sales. By leveraging well-hyped events such as the Olympics or Super Bowl, financial institutions can gain valuable PR and attention from customers.

image I looked at 3 or 4 dozen large U.S. bank and credit union sites today and found just one riding the election hysteria to make a point. Key Bank’s Pick Your President promotion (here) has nothing to do with McCain vs. Obama but is actually a clever way to convince customers to switch to electronic statements. Customers get $1 (George Washington) for every account switched to estatements and $5 (Abe Lincoln) if they take bill pay with that. The bank is also throwing in a pair of $1,000 sweeps prizes to add a few Benjamins to the mix.

Nice job, Key; our vote is with you.

Key Bank homepage with small banner for the Pick Your President promo
(4 Nov 2008)

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Key Bank Pick Your President landing page (4 Nov 2008)

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PNC Mobile Banking Offered through Verizon’s Website

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Firethorn, mFoundry, Mobile Banking, PNC Bank

Verizon Wireless mobile phone users can now download PNC Bank mobile banking directly from the Verizon Wireless site (here). The free service, powered by mFoundry, is housed in the Features & Downloads area (see first screenshot below).

However, unlike Firethorn's mobile banking app which carries a "recommended" endorsement from the wireless carrier (see second screenshot), the PNC Bank app is found only via site search (see last screenshot). The PNC app is currently not available via browsing the business apps.

Users may click on the Send to Phone button, a shortcut that sends an application directly to their mobile phone for easy downloading. Both mobile banking applications are free.

PNC Mobile Banking app on Verizon Wireless site (3 Nov 2008)

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Search results for "banking" at Verizon's Tools & Applications area
(3 Nov 2008)

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Firethorn's mobile banking app is recommended at the Verizon site
(3 Nov 2008)

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Note:
1. For more information on the market, see our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking.

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ING Direct Delivers a Small Online Banking Treat with Halloween Homepage Animation

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, ING Direct

image I’ve written about ING Direct’s holiday animations before. While they won’t win any new business by themselves, they are part of a brand image that ING Direct cultivates. And it works because many consumers respond positively to a sense of humor even from institutions that are supposed to be serious.

With consumer confidence at an all-time low, and banks not exactly on anyone’s holiday-card list, it’s probably not a good time to create a whimsical branding campaign. But if you are ING Direct, which has built its image on bright-orange graphics and hip advertising, you can still have a little fun with the bank’s favorite orange holiday, Halloween.

Visitors to the direct bank’s homepage this week initially see white space where the bouncing orange ball normally does its thing. Within a few seconds an orange-eyed ghost comes out of the background (see first screenshot below). It comes towards you, then reveals the orange ball underneath the white “costume” (see second screenshot). Then it ends with the usual homepage (see third screenshot; note 1).

Very clever (I’d even say LOL, but I’ve vowed to never to use that term professionally).

ING Direct homepage (28 Oct. 2008)

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Notes:
1. The animation runs just once. That’s an important element of restraint to preserve the viewing experience. Don’t endlessly cycle animations or you’ll annoy your visitors. They can refresh themselves if they want to see it again. 

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ING Direct Launches "We, the Savers" Manifesto & Microsite

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs, ING Direct

imageI noticed a new graphic on the ING Direct homepage today, “We, the Savers” in the upper-right corner. It leads to a banking version of the Clue Train Manifesto called The Declaration of Financial Independence operated by the bank at <wethesavers.com>.

imageAt the microsite visitors can read the 10-point declaration and sign the manifesto online. The U.S. map includes orange balls in each state that when moused over reveal the number of signers. So far, more than 5,300 consumers have signed since it went live Oct. 10th. All signers can be viewed at the site, but you have the option of leaving only your last initial for privacy.

When you sign the declaration, a little orange ball bounces over to the map and updates the state count in real time. As a final touch, signers qualify for a free “I save” bumper sticker from the bank’s online store.

The effort is well conceived and well executed, as we’ve come to expect from ING Direct.

Wethesavers.com microsite from ING Direct (28 Oct 2008)

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“We, the Savers” link on ING Direct homepage (28 Oct 2008)

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Citibank Credit Cards Coming to the iPhone Nov. 1, Powered by Firethorn

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Citibank, Credit/Debit Cards, Firethorn, iPhone, Mobile Banking

image Firethorn (owned by Qualcomm) has a new iPhone app called Mobile Banking for AT&T Customers. The app is currently ranked number eight in the finance category of the Apple iTunes App Store (see screenshot below). Of the transactional services, only PayPal and BofA’s Mobile Banking are higher.

Firethorn iPhone app (27 Oct 2008) The application can be used to access online banking at any of the ten financial institution holding companies, and their subsidiaries, currently supported by Firethorn:

  • 1st Bank (Colorado)
  • America First Credit Union
  • Arvest
  • BancorpSouth
  • Caroline First
  • Mercantile Bank
  • Suntrust
  • Synovus
  • USAA
  • Wachovia (now owned by Wells Fargo)

The Firethorn application has 27 reviews so far and has scored a 4-star average (out of 5), much better than the typical finance app (see previous coverage here). The main complaint is lack of coverage for the user’s bank, which is not the fault of the app.  In comparison, Bank of America’s app garnered 434 reviews and a 2.5-star rating.

I downloaded the application today and, unfortunately, I don’t have an account at any of the financial institutions; however, that will change next week if they hit the dates contained in the Featured Providers page.

Here are coming-soon financial institutions:

  • Citi Cards (Citibank) “coming Nov. 1” (previous press release here)
  • Chase Bank “coming soon”
  • Regions Bank “beginning this fall”

Firethorn Mobile Banking on AT&T in Apple iTunes App Store (27 Oct 2008)

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E-Loan to Stop Direct Mortgage Lending but Will Maintain Loan Portal/Referral Business

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: E-Loan, E*Trade, Lead Generation, LendingTree, Loans & Credit, NetBank, NextCard

image In the early commercial Web era (1995 to 1998), five financial startups inspired me in terms of their innovative products and services: 

  • E-Loan for mortgage
  • E*Trade for stock brokerage
  • Netbank for deposit-taking
  • NextCard for credit cards
  • LendingTree for lead generation

These were my go to companies for ideas and inspiration when covering the space in the mid-to-late 1990s. In those days, traditional financial institutions were just getting started and were not as far along in features and functionality. 

Sadly, two of the five have failed, NextCard in 2002 (here) and NetBank in 2007 (here). And the other three are struggling through the credit crisis.

The latest downer: This week, E-Loan, owned by Banco Popular, announced its exit from the online mortgage origination business. Reading the headlines, I first thought they’d thrown in the towel altogether. But it turns out they are discontinuing only direct mortgage originations. The company will continue to use its popular website (see traffic below) to attract potential borrowers who are handed off to other lenders, something it already does today for student, auto, personal and business loans, along with credit cards. This is a potentially lucrative fee-based business with zero credit risk.

It’s a cautionary tale of how critical, and difficult, the execution piece is. These were industry darlings, always in the news and at the top of the search results. Yet, in financial services especially, you have to temper innovation with prudent underwriting and business practices. All three were brought down by credit-related problems. 

E-Loan traffic has stabilized at around 250,000 uniques per month:

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Online Personal Finance Traffic More than Doubles; PNC Virtual Wallet Grabs Second Place

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Geezeo, Metrics & Market Research, Mint, Personal Financial Management, PNC Bank, Rudder, Wesabe

image As I was drilling into the latest Compete traffic numbers for the annual Online Banking Report planning issue, I noticed a significant uptick in traffic to online personal finance specialists, almost across the board.

Sept. traffic revealed a total of 1.2 million unique visitors (note 1) compared to less than 400,000 a year ago. Not surprisingly, consumers appear to be taking a closer look at their finances. 

The big three newcomers last year: Mint, Wesabe, and Geezeo saw combined traffic increase by 450,000 users, a nearly three-fold increase from 2007. Geezeo was the star percentage-wise, growing more than six-fold. But Mint accounted for three-fourths of the net gain across the existing players with 330,000 more visitors (see Table 1 below):

Also, two newcomers made a big splash last month:

  • PNC Virtual Wallet launched in July (coverage here) by PNC Bank, which trailed only Mint last month with nearly 140,000 unique visitors (see 2 below).
  • Rudder (a relaunch of Spendview) drew 50,000 visitors last month after its launch at DEMOfall in early Sept.

Granted, the PNC Virtual Wallet benefits enormously from the 2 million monthly visitors to parent PNC.com and PNCBank.com. Yet, it’s still an impressive total and is encouraging for banks and credit unions considering similar efforts.

Table 1: Online PFMs launched more than 1 year ago

  Sep 2008 Sep 2007 Gain ’08 vs. ’07 Multiple
Mint 530,000 200,000 330,000 2.7 x
Geezeo 72,000 11,000 61,000 6.5 x
Wesabe 89,000 33,000 56,000 2.7 x
Yodlee 97,000 50,000 47,000 1.9 x
Finicity/Mvelopes 91,000 73,000 18,000 1.2 x
Buxfer 9,000 3,500 5,500 2.5 x
PearBudget 6,300 2,100 4,200 3.0 x
ClearCheckbook 6,200 2,800 3,400 2.2 x
BudgetTracker 12,000 12,000 0 Flat
  Total 910,000 380,000 530,000 2.4x

Table 2: The online PFM class of 2008

  Sep 2008 Sep 2007 Gain
PNC Virtual Wallet 140,000 0 140,000
Rudder 50,000 2,000 (1) 48,000
Expensify 9,600 0 9,600
GreenSherpa 6,300 0 6,300
RateSurfer 4,400 0 4,400
Thrive 3,500 0 3,500
Expensr 2,900 0 2,900
Banzai 2,700 0 2,700
iThryv 2,000 0 2,000
  T
otal		 220,000 2,000 220,000
       
Grand Total 1.2 million 380,000 750,000

 Notes:

1. Sum of the monthly unique visitors from all PFM companies, visitors that went to more than one PFM provider are not eliminated from the total, so there is double counting in the totals. Data source is Compete, pulled 21 Oct 2008.

2. Rudder was previously Spendview, but we consider them to be essentially a new company.

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