Founded in January. Launched in March (see their FinovateSpring 2013 demo). Acquired in August.
That pretty much sums up a very productive 2013 for online tax preparation/planning software company, GoodApril.
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Founded in January. Launched in March (see their FinovateSpring 2013 demo). Acquired in August.
That pretty much sums up a very productive 2013 for online tax preparation/planning software company, GoodApril.
Online invoicing startup Tradeshift announced updates to its platform yesterday that extend its reach beyond just e-invoicing.
The new update, called Collaborative Workflow, will enable users to collaborate on tasks and automate workflow, making Tradeshift a more holistic platform for businesses. It attempts to “humanize” the workflow process by:
1) taking the platform mobile
2) automating repetitive tasks
3) allowing multiple users to collaborate on a single project, giving each user a profile picture to associate with their name.
Check out Tradeshift at FinovateEurope 2012 where it demoed its Instant Payments feature.
Our family has been lucky. Extraordinarily lucky. Eighty-plus years of mostly city driving, combined across four drivers, and not a single auto insurance claim (note 1). That means we’ve paid more than $100,000 (2013 dollars) in premiums for nothing, so far (note 2).
Actually, that’s not at all fair to the insurance providers. We’ve paid $100k for the peace of mind and potential financial help had we needed it (not to mention staying on the right side of the law). And it’s been worth it.
That said, I wouldn’t mind paying less for the same peace of mind. And that’s why I love the idea of mileage- and behavioral-based insurance (note 3). I haven’t always been a model driver, but I was the first person in my extended family to regularly wear a seat belt and I’ve grown to be a relatively conservative driver, especially after becoming a parent.
And I’d love to be compensated for that.
That’s why I’m all for the next generation of “smart auto insurance” that connects to your on-board computers to measure:
And eventually, even more difficult concepts such as:
Not only will I qualify for lower premiums (hopefully), the feedback from the tracker will be interesting (e.g,. historical maps of your routes) and could have a significant impact on the quality of your driving (since it will directly impact your rate). I know there are serious big-brother concerns here, especially in light of the NSA scandals of the past few months. But it can all be opt-in, though eventually, those not opting in will face higher premiums.
Progressive Insurance is an early leader in this area. It’s opt-in Snapshot tracking device (inset) has been used by more than one million customers (see screenshot below). Prospective customers can install the device free of charge for 30 days and track their potential savings online. You don’t even have to be a Progressive customer to get the free trial.
Bottom line: Unless regulators get in the way due to privacy concerns, it’s inevitable that auto insurance, along with other types of property/casualty, will use behavioral metrics to price the risk. That will be a big change for the industry and will likely provide good openings for new entrants.
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Progressive has 1 million drivers using its plug-in tracker (7 Aug 2013)
Snapshot tracking log (via RoverGuide.com here)
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Notes:
1. There have been a few altercations with concrete pillars and such, but nothing severe enough to involve the insurance company.
2. I know that I’ve now completely jinxed this, sorry family, and whomever we collide with.
3. See previous post on Street Owl’s safe driving app and Metro Mile’s pay-as-you-go insurance.
4. For more on banks opportunities in insurance, see our full report here (Dec 2011, subscription)
One of the biggest gripes about mobile and online bill payment is that it takes “forever” to post (read 2-3 days), and if you want to (or have to) speed up the process, it’s just too expensive.
To solve this problem, PayConnect from PreCash leverages the company’s existing, cloud-based processing system to provide same day payment delivery for more than 80% of the transactions it processes.
NICE, a company that focuses on enhancing interactions with end customers, is about to make it easier for organizations to understand and improve the customer experience.
That’s because the Israel-based company announced it will acquire Causata, a customer experience management company.
As a part of the partnership, NICE will integrate Causata’s Hadoop-based technologies into its Customer Engagement Analytics platform. This will:
The acquisition is expected to close in a few days.
To learn more about NICE, check out their demo from FinovateSpring 2013.
Recently, the big data trend has been pulsing through fintech and beyond. To further prove this, data insights company and creator of looop, ERN, recently announced $1 million in funding and the acquisition of two companies.
This seed funding, combined with the $1.6 million it announced in July and the $2 million it received late last year, brings the London-based company’s total funding to $4.6 million. All investors are unnamed, high-net worth individuals.
ERN acquired two U.K.-based consulting companies that were both purchased with a combination of undisclosed fees and stock:
ERN also mentioned in its news release that it is preparing to announce its first commercial customer.
To learn more about ERN, check out its FinovateEurope 2013 demo video.
PayDivvy’s social bill management services will soon be available to college and university students on the Higher One platform.
That’s because Higher One, a tech services company for college campuses, has purchased PayDivvy’s software. Now that the year-long acquisition process is complete, Higher One will enable its client base of college students to split and track bills and share expenses using PayDivvy’s social bill management services. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
While the technology is well-suited for expense tracking and splitting among college roommates, Higher One has future plans to open the service to non-college students, in order to retain users after they graduate.
PayDivvy’s founders, Mike Melby and Ray Tamblyn, have left to pursue other ventures, but the team of engineers at PayDivvy will still work with Higher One.
To learn more about PayDivvy, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.
We recently chatted with Austin-based Q2 (formerly Q2ebanking) to find out what its team has been up to since demoing at Finovate. We also wanted to get a closer look at the recent announcement of its partnership with PFM solutions provider, Geezeo.
Q2 Overview
1) Enhanced security: Q2 is the only online banking provider that has built its own security solution into its platform.
2) Q2Clarity: This new solution provides bank executives with easy-to-digest visuals of how their customers are using online and mobile banking platforms. Graphs show logon rates, mobile device usage, and more.
3) Tablet: A step further into mobile development allows end users to perform daily banking tasks, including mobile bill pay, remote deposit capture, and mobile enrollment.
Geezeo partnership
Geezeo first took the Finovate stage in 2007 with a followup appearance at FinovateFall 2010, where it demoed its Enterprise Marketing Platform alongside SapientNitro.
Integrating Geezeo’s PFM with Q2’s e-banking platform will provide users easy access to their spending summary. Financial institutions will have the option to customize how they want Geezeo’s PFM to look inside their online banking experience. For example, it can appear on a sidebar on the homepage, or be located under a separate tab.
People’s Bank of Alabama is the first to adopt this new platform, and Q2 is in the process of on-boarding additional customers.
What’s next
Q2’s next innovation will focus on Big Data marketing. Retail banks will be able to use data gathered from client interactions to cross-sell and up-sell to customers.
Q2 demoed at FinovateSpring 2011. Check out the demo video here.