Flint Mobile Partners with NXGEN’s Fidano to Support Mobile Payments

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The battle to liberate merchants from card reader hardware and proprietary mobile wallets just recorded another victory.

Flint Mobile has announced that they will bring their swipe-free mobile payments solution to Fidano, a subsidiary of merchant service provider NXGEN

Flint’s app enables merchants to accept credit card payments via iPhone. While the cardholder information passes through the app (the app scans the card numbers and is used to enter verification data) no information is stored on the phone itself.

Fidano’s partners will be able to take advantage of Flint’s platform in the second quarter of 2013. The company, which made the partnership announcement at the PYMNTS.com Innovation Project today, reports strong usage growth of its iOS app over the past six weeks. The app has been available since November 2012.

Flint Mobile was last on the Finovate stage in 2012 at FinovateSpring.  See them in action here.

Finovate Alumni News– March 22, 2013

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  • Fathead launches Virtual Piggy youth friendly payment system.
  • Fiserv processed more than 10 mil loan applications in 2012.
  • CNN Money lists Personal Capital as 1 of 5 best apps to invest smarter.
  • Temenos announces acquisition of compliance technology firm, TriNovus.
  • IRA Reviews
    takes a look
    at the fee and commission structure of TradeKing after the merger with Zecco.
  • VoiceTrust brings voice biometrics technology to USoft.
  • TSYS executive wins award at CPI Global Awards for Excellence in Commercial Cards and Payments.
  • Crackberry.com highlights Pageonce for BlackBerry 10.
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.

Communicating Downtime and Other Tech Problems to Banking Customers

image While digital delivery is pretty stable these days, every business has the occasional service interruption, slowdown or hiccup. Even when inconvenienced, most customers are tolerant if you do a good job of communicating during the crisis.

So, what do good communications look like? It depends on the problem of course, but standard tools include:

  • Tweets and Facebook status updates every hour or two (especially if your main website is down, or crippled)
  • Emails or text messages (depending on customer preferences) at least once per day, or more frequently if there is new info
  • Proactive communications to press and other stakeholders (method varies depends on severity of the problem and communication preferences of recipient)
  • Scripts and on-hold messages on the VRU
  • YouTube video
  • Status updates, FAQs and contact info hosted on alternative website (during an outage)
  • Post-crisis FAQ posted on main website for those impacted to read about how it was resolved

Choosing the medium is the easy part. Crafting the content is much harder. Make sure you cover the basics:

1. Concise explanation of the problem and who felt the impact

2. Apologize for the inconvenience

3. Details of what is being done to fix it

4. Timetable for a fix

5. Where to look for periodic updates to above

6. Contact info for questions

Anecdotally, most financial institutions do pretty good on this scale, hitting three or four of the six. But few get them all.

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Mini-Case Study: Capital One 360 Mortgage Conversion
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The most recent example of a service glitch in my accounts came from Capital One 360 (formerly ING Direct USA) a few days ago (note 1). As you can see from the screenshot below, they did a good job of owning up to the situation, providing a special email address for questions, and keeping the message short and sincere. That said, the bank failed to explain the problem, its severity and who was affected. And, inexplicably, they forget the A word, as in “I apologize.” But overall, I’ll rate this a B or B+ in glitch response.

I have a mortgage at Capital One 360 and had no idea there was a problem until I got the message (even Google doesn’t know, according to my recent search). So naturally, the first thing I did was log in to my account. There I found no message or indication that anything was amiss. That was reassuring, but now, I’m triply irritated and slightly concerned that I may have been scammed.

So I used the special customer service email address provided in the customer email (the only contact option provided) which easily could have mitigated my negative feelings. But it’s been 33 hours, and I’ve yet to receive a response (not even an automated reply), so that’s not making me feel any better (note 2).

Bottom line: The Internet (and mobile) gave us the gift of an instant, and virtually cost-free, direct communication line to customers. Use it wisely.

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Email from Capital One 360 regarding home loan problems (18 Mar 2013)
Note: Special email address for questions

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Picture credit: Short Stories for Tech Geeks

Notes:
1. Capital One (and ING Direct) are better than most in the communications area (this one for example) and I’ve never had any complaints during my three years as a mortgage holder. So I apologize in advance for using them to illustrate this post.  
2. The original message was sent to Capital One at 11:20 AM (Pacific) on 20 Mar 2103. Perhaps my email never made it through. Or maybe it’s in their spam folder. It’s a sample of one, so you can’t read too much into it.
3. We’ve tackled remote banking customer service and messaging a number of times in previous Online Banking Reports. The last one was Live Help published in 2011 (subscription).

Wealthfront Secures $20 Million Funding Round

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Index Ventures, Greylock Partners and the Social+Capital Partnership have just made financial advisory service Wealthfront $20 million wealthier.

Joined by angel investors from institutions as diverse as WordPress and the San Francisco 49ers professional football team, the funding round provides a significant shot in the arm to a start-up still seeking to distinguish itself in a crowded and growing marketplace.

Wealthfront is an online, SEC-registered financial advisory service geared toward average, non-accredited investors who want actively managed accounts. The service includes such features as tax-loss harvesting (for accounts above $100,000) and automatic rebalancing. Note that both of these features are often accessible only through in-person, human brokers and financial advisors.

The company has seen growth in assets under management of more than 70% since 2013, totaling more than $170 million. 

Wealthfront first appeared on the Finovate stage as part of FinovateStartup 2009. Then doing business as “kaChing”, the company presented their virtual investing environment. To see their demo, click here.

Q2ebanking Secures $20 Million Series C Financing

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Online banking solutions company Q2ebanking recently closed a $20 million Series C financing round.

New investor, Battery Ventures, led the round. Adams Street Partners, which has been involved in each round of Q2ebanking’s funding, also participated.

Q2ebanking states that it will use the new round to invest in continued platform innovation and to expand sales and marketing efforts.

The Austin-based company also released some quick figures:

    • About 400 FIs use its ebanking technology, reaching over 3 million users
    • More than 70 of its clients have assets exceeding $1 billion
    • From 2011 to 2012, its revenue growth expanded from 49% to 51%

To learn more about Q2ebanking, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

Finovate Alumni News– March 21, 2013

  • Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTIO Networks launches mobile payment app for Mobilicity.
  • PayPal signs on to the ePayments Code released by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC code, which replaces EFT code).
  • CNN Money reviews Mint and HelloWallet side-by-side.
  • CNN Money names BillShrink as best app to manage your money.
  • Flint Mobile announces partnership with NXGEN subsidiary Fidano to support mobile payment adoption.
  • Through partnership with Luminous, Nihilent to sell Luminous’ solutions in India.
  • IDentity Theft 911 expands service partnership with VyStar Credit Union.
  • Cofounder of TransferWise, Taavet Hinrikus writes in the Wall Street Journal about the importance of team-building for successful CEOs.
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.

Judges Name BBVA and Fidor Bank AG Two of Four Winners of the 2013 Bank Innovation Awards

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We recently returned from the Bank Innovation conference in San Francisco, where the 2013 Bank Innovation awards were presented on Monday afternoon.

A panel of judges selected BBVA and Fidor Bank AG as 2 of 4 companies whose innovations made a difference in 2012.

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BBVA won for its BBVA Game that uses gamification to incent clients to use its banking services. Elements of the game include points, badges, and a leaderboard that come together in a virtual economy. In the 6 months since its launch, more than 100k customers have signed up. Watch the demo video of BBVA debuting its new Stockbuzz program at FinovateEurope 2013.

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Fidor Bank AG
Fidor Bank AG won for Like-Zins, a user-generated interest rate program. For every 2,000 Facebook likes that Fidor receives, it raises the interest rate on FidorPay checking accounts by 10 basis points per year (with a cap of 15% per year). So far, the Facebook community has increased the accounts by 50-70 basis points. Fidor demoed at FinovateEurope 2011.

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Also among the winners are:

  • Long-time Finovate sponsor The Bancorp Bank, which is the financial institution that backs both Moven and Simple.
  • SaverNation, a company that helps users fund their retirement by saving small percentages of their normal purchases.

See Bank Innovation’s full coverage of all of the winners here.

Tyfone Taking Mobile Wallet Services to Communication Federal Credit Union

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Believe that mobile banking is the future? Then stay tuned for more from credit unions like Communication FCU which just announced a new partnership with mobile banking platform provider Tyfone.

What’s in the deal for Communication FCU and its members? The highlights include:

  • Fiserv XP2 core integrated mobile banking
  • Enhanced ID authentication
  • NFC contactless payment technology

Central to Tyfone’s mobile banking solution is the iCashe mobile wallet. Tyfone’s mobile wallet provides opportunities for financial institutions to earn revenue while simultaneously offering wallet-users easy and secure access to their accounts.

Communication FCU has more than 55,000 members and more than $850 million in assets. Founded in 1939, the credit union has 10 branches in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Long-time alum Tyfone demoed at Finovate Startup 2008. You can see their demo here.

Finovate Alumni News– March 20, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFenergo releases enhanced compliance and customer onboarding support solution for FIs.
  • FIS announces seven-year agreement with FirstBank Puerto Rico for outsourcing services.
  • Fortnoff Financial reviews TradeKing.
  • The Valley Girl Show interviews Locaid CEO, Rip Gerber.
  • Creative Huddle takes a look at TransferWise as a disruptive force in banking.
  • BillGuard launches early, limited MVP testing version of iPhone app.
  • Expensify bolsters SalesForce integration by supporting FinancialForce.
  • American Banker reports Backbase launches Portal 5.4,  enhancing digital marketing to include better targeting & more.
  • Cortera launches Cortera Lookalikes to seek out new customers  that look and act like a company’s existing customer base.
  • rPlan launches “rplan University”, an online course to provide crucial education on investing.
  • ID Analytics launches ID Network Attributes, targeted consumer behavior insights that provide visibility into identity or transaction risk.
  • Lend Academy reports LendingClub loans being snatched up quickly (within hours).
  • PaySimple partners with CheckAlt to provide suite of payments and receivables tools to SMBs.
  • Validata to provide test case content for Temenos T24 German Banking Suite.
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 2013 Demo Videos Now Available

FEU2013Button.pngWe’re excited to announce the demo videos from FinovateEurope 2013 are now available for your viewing enjoyment. If you missed out on the largest European event we’ve ever held, this is your chance to see the newest European and global fintech innovations from the 64 cutting-edge companies that were on stage.

The videos are part of the Finovate Archives, where you can watch (for free) every demo of new technology since our first conference in the fall of 2007. It’s an inspiring place to hang out online for a couple of hours.

If these videos have made you hungry for more, tickets for FinovateSpring 2013 (May 14-15 in San Francisco) and FinovateFall 2013 (September 10-11 in New York City) are now on sale. Both events showcase the latest fintech innovations from around the globe to audiences of 1,000+ financial executives, venture capitalists, press, industry analysts, bloggers and entrepreneurs. All you have to do is choose between the financial capital of the world (New York) or the startup capital of the world (Silicon Valley). We’ll see you soon! 

FinovateEurope 2013 was sponsored by: Bluerock Consulting, Financial Technology Partners The Bancorp & Yodlee

FinovateEurope 2013 was partners with: BankersHub, Celent, Finance On Windows, Financial Services Innovation Centre, The Financial Services Club, and Hotwire PR 

FinovateEurope 2013 Demo Videos Now Available

FEU2013Button.pngWe’re excited to announce the demo videos from FinovateEurope 2013 are now available for your viewing enjoyment. If you missed out on the largest European event we’ve ever held, this is your chance to see the newest European and global fintech innovations from the 64 cutting-edge companies that were on stage.

The videos are part of the Finovate Archives, where you can watch (for free) every demo of new technology since our first conference in the fall of 2007. It’s an inspiring place to hang out online for a couple of hours.

If these videos have made you hungry for more, tickets for FinovateSpring 2013 (May 14-15 in San Francisco) and FinovateFall 2013 (September 10-11 in New York City) are now on sale. Both events showcase the latest fintech innovations from around the globe to audiences of 1,000+ financial executives, venture capitalists, press, industry analysts, bloggers and entrepreneurs. All you have to do is choose between the financial capital of the world (New York) or the startup capital of the world (Silicon Valley). We’ll see you soon! 

FinovateEurope 2013 was sponsored by: Bluerock Consulting, Financial Technology Partners The Bancorp & Yodlee

FinovateEurope 2013 was partners with: BankersHub, Celent, Finance On Windows, Financial Services Innovation Centre, The Financial Services Club, and Hotwire PR 

Finovate Alumni News– March 19, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgVantageScore 3.0 now available from Experian.
  • WattzOn featured in RealtorMag column on energy savings for homeowners.
  • Communications Federal Credit Union to provide Tyfone mobile wallet services to its members.
  • Service2Media‘s M2Active 4.0 selected by Achmea as the “technological cornerstone” for its App Factory.
  • Bank Systems & Technology takes a look at what the acquisition of mFoundry means for FIS‘s future in mobile banking.
  • Bloomberg’s Tech Deals reviews Jemstep Portfolio Manager.
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.