Capital One 360 Arrives in February

imageContractually, Capital One had just one year to transition away from the ING Direct name and rebrand with its own creation. Last week, it announced the new name:

                 Capital One 360

While I like the “360” thing, I’m a little disappointed they didn’t give it a separate brand, like NAB’s UBank. Here’s how the bank explains it to customers:

Red’s the new Orange. Since Capital One’s colors are red and blue, our new colors are going to be red and blue, too. After all, we’ve got to make sure we’re color coordinated and lookin’ good for the family photo.

My take: Most financial institutions are best served by overlaying their trusted name on all their initiatives. But given the provenance of ING Direct, a quirky independent anti-bank bank (though it was owned by a huge financial conglomerate), I thought this might be an exception to the rule. But I don’t fault the bank one bit for taking the lower-risk approach. 

It will be interesting to see how Capital One positions the 360 brand long-term with its other bank and card divisions. image The “360” implies a full view of your finances, so I wonder if they’ll be dropping PFM features into the account soon. There are no clues on the bank’s “Our pledge” page (accessed via the blue button above the ball). 

And long-time fans are wondering how much of the old ING Direct quirkiness will be maintained, if any. One promising sign, the landing page at <capitalone360.com>, has a clever play on words along with an interactive feature that allows the user to “paint” over the orange ball revealing a maroon 360 one. Very well done.

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Capital One 360 landing page before “brushing” (14 Nov 2012)

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Capital One 360 landing page after brushing

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Note: Not that it really matters, but I was expecting the ball to bounce, as it used to on the ING Direct page, after the 360 was revealed.

Finovate Alumni News– November 14, 2012

  • Canadian Contractor looks to CommunityLend’s Financeit as 1 of 3 ways to finance a renovation.
  • PandoDaily features Klarna’s checkout system.
  • USA Today considers how Kabbage helps small businesses obtain funding.
  • Geezeo signs Methodist Healthcare FCU.
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 Digital Wallet Value Proposition

image There has been more e-ink spilled this year on the subject of mobile/digital wallets than any other financial technology. For good reason. The upcoming shift impacts every major retailer, bank, and card issuer, along with their various supporting technology vendors. 

But there are still those who wonder what all the fuss is about. Doesn’t plastic serve the consumer just fine? It’s fast, ubiquitous, and oh-so much better than the checks and cash it replaced. 

The problem with that reasoning is it only focuses on the “last mile” of payments, the swipe. The swipe is easy. That’s why contactless was slow to catch on. It only converted the physical action from swipe to tap; a tiny benefit hardly worth the trouble. 

imageBut the changes being ushered in now have little to do with hand motions. It’s about simplifying the messy process consumers go through when deciding which card to swipe/tap/insert. Consumers, at least those with the luxury of having multiple payment options, are faced with a fairly complex decision process (albeit repetitive):

  • Do I have my wallet with me?
  • What cards are in it?
  • Debit or credit?
  • Signature debit vs. PIN?
  • What card types are accepted (e.g., Visa/Mastercard vs. Discover or Amex)?
  • What is my balance or available credit?
  • Personal card or company card?
  • Will the card be accepted?
  • Am I in revolving status? If so, what impact will this purchase have on my rate or monthly payment?
  • What are the penalty fees if I go overlimit or am late with my payment?
  • Are they any reward bonuses available on this merchant category with a certain card?
  • Are there any card-linked offers at this particular merchant?
  • Are there any other loyalty perks at the merchant for using their card?
  • What are my rewards balances on various payment options?
  • Do I have any coupons or offers to redeem here?
  • If it’s a joint account, is my spouse making purchases on the card I didn’t know about?
  • Do I trust this merchant, or might I end up with a fraud problem on this card?
  • Do I want the merchant to know anything about me?
  • What is this costing the merchant (if I don’t want to drive up their costs)?
  • Will the merchant give me grief over using this option (e.g., surly cabbies)?
  • Does the merchant have any minimum purchase amounts or surcharges for various purchase methods?
  • For non-revolving credit, when will my grace period be over and I’ll actually have to come up with the money?
  • How easy is it to track the payment for later reimbursement or tax deduction?
  • How hard is it to dispute a charge?
  • Which card did I use here before?
  • Is there more prestige in using one payment card over another?
  • Do I need to curry favor with one issuer vs. another (e.g., to get a better rate or higher line of credit)?
  • What is the foreign exchange rate and are there foreign exchange surcharges?
  • Do I have brand preferences for reasons unrelated to the actual transaction? 

Mobile wallets can use their computing power to instantly resolve these questions and present the user with optimal choice(s). Or the wallet could step in and make the choice automatically which is the key value proposition of the upcoming offering from Wallaby (see notes 1, 2).   

Then there’s the whole issue of receipt management and expense tracking that can be integrated into wallets (see previous post; note 3).

Bottom line: I could go on, but the point is that the digital wallet era is upon us, and consumers are going to love it (eventually). How long it takes to catch on is uncertain, but it should be fun to watch.

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Notes:
1. I was briefed on the Wallaby card, currently in closed beta testing, by its founder Matthew Goldman at Money2020 three weeks ago. Like Google’s rumored wallet 2.0 offering, Wallaby hopes to replace all the plastic in your wallet with a mobile app and decoupled debit card (plastic) for use at the POS. Then after the transaction is made on the Wallaby card, its proprietary algorithm will route transactions to the user’s optimal card based on which offers the highest reward amount for each transaction.
2. For a more thorough analysis, see David Birch’s vision of the “decoupled wallet” future here and Tom Noyes Battle of the Cloud, both published this week. And Glenbrook’s Carol Coye Benson published this opus on Sep 24.
3. Aite’s Ron Shevlin expanded on that in his blog post last week.

FinovateAsia 2012 Live Twitter Transcript

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Here is the live Twitter transcript from @Finovate during FinovateAsia last week:

Entries appear in chronological order.

Session 1

  • Innovation Agency begins Finovate with a unique new platform for fostering ideas internally.
  • Innovation Agency’s Innovation Café can be white-labeled & integrated with SharePoint, Oracle, and WebSpace; has mobile app
  • TIBCO Software launching Contextual Mobility to deliver superior offers on the go 
  • TIBCO demoing merchant’s social dashboard where they can converse with users (via facebook-like UI), track performance, etc.
  • Heckyl launching real-time trading & news dashboard to view aggregated info from millions of sources
  • Heckyl UI for traders. Color codes on news shows sentiment and trend over time; also has news cluster visualization 
  • eWise launching MyFin mobile banking platform PFM platform with account aggregation 
  • eWise demoing UI on iPad app; showing funds transfer; clients include HSBC, Citibank, Westpac 
  • Metaforic launching software to detect and respond to mobile security threats 
  • Metaforic system allows a variety of ways to handle attacks: warn, flag transaction, shutdown, silent alarm to bank, etc 
  • Backbase showing new Bank 2.0 portal; offers same UI across various devices 
  • Backbase showing how UI can be changed through online dashboard; using behavioral data, segmentation, etc
  • Striata launching its next-gen eBill; showing example in use by Barclays 
  • Striata e-statement includes interactive elements such as search, sort & cost saving “transaction dispute” right from the inbox
  • Perfectsen launches targeted ad platform, The Hook
  • Perfectsen showing how to “monetize” massive online/mobile banking traffic with highly-targeted ads located in wasted space
Session 2
  • Pendo Systems launching system to make asset data more transparent within banks 
  • Pendo Systems demoing Basispoint online dashboard; also has data visualization via iPad app 
  • Strands Finance launching its What If function within its PFM 
  • Strands showing what if on mobile app so users can look at what a purchase would do to their financial health
  • Barclays announcing launch of PFM powered by Strands, demoing UI to be available in a few days
  • CurrencyFair showing MarketPlace, a P2P currency exchange platform, that saves up to 90% on fx
  • CurrencyFair new MarketPlace allows users to ask for a certain price in the marketplace 
  • SocietyOne demonstrating Smartphone Loan Application that enables 3-min loan app 
  • SocietyOne runs P2P marketplace in Australia; uses Yodlee for acct access
  • Fiserv showing Mobiliti Reach Mobile Banking & Payments Platform
  • Fiserv demoing Control Centre management platform for mobile service offerings
  • Figlo launching tablet version of it PFM platform; demoing it at its client Knab Bank
  • Figlo showing how it connects to actual advisors within the platform; UI shows how current decisions change long-term finances
  • UBank from NAB launching People Like U allows customers to compare their spending/finances with peers 
  • UBank showing how to run http://peoplelikeu.com.au comparisons; uses transactions from 2.5 million users in Australia
  • Tagit launching Open Platform where merchants can develop and deploy mobile apps 
  • Tagit demoing creation of new app & offer and then shows new results across 4 different phones
  • DemystData demoing Credit-in-a-Box which shows how it uses big data to make better decisions
  • The DemystData system allows bank to accept more loan applicants
Session 3
  • Austria’s Smart Engine launching its offers platform
  • Smart Engine demoing the creation of a direct mail offer via its online dashboard; showing offers delivered to mobile 
  • BellaDati launching business analytics system for banking data
  • BellaDati has comprehensive data visualizations via online dashboard or mobile; showing developer tools & Salesforce integration 
  • Wipro Technologies launching SmartOffers digital offers/coupons platform
  • Wipro demos how offers appear on phone, limit to 3 to keep them relevant; showing mobile integration with mobile wallet 
  • BankersLab launching Sc
    oringLab a “flight simulator for bankers” to teach credit scoring
  • BankersLab showing how it gamifies training; demoing mobile BancIt option
  • InterAcct Solutions launching EZYsecure mobile authentication system 
  • InterAcct Solutions demoing how its delivers a popup overlay over mobile screen; user cannot miss and can stay on same screen 
  • InterAcct Solutions launching this year in Indonesia with a major bank
  • BankBazaar.com launching 7-minute Credit eApproval across online, mobile, and tablet interfaces
  • India’s BankBazaar.com demoing its 3-step loan app process; showing how it looks at ICICI Bank & Axis Bank 
  • PocketSmith launching cash flow forecasts; can see whole month calendar view with projections 30 years out 
  • PocketSmith demoing Zillow integration so to do what-ifs with the exact houses you are looking at buying
  • PocketSmith has a tool called “Mint Express” which allows users to transfer data from Mint to PocketSmith
  • Zighra launching ZFraudShield authentication system
  • Zighra adds a “crowdsourced” option, layering in a check of existing users to see if anyone has previously flagged trans as fraud
Session 4
  • Entrepreneurial Finance Lab’s Credit Scoring Tool allows lending to thin/ no-file small biz 
  • EFL has mobile tool to assess entrepreneurial ability & willingness to repay loans using personality testing; proven at banks
  • ayondo launching a social trading platform with “follow the followers” feature
  • ayondo showing portfolio dashboard and trading tools; version 3.0 out later this month 
  • BlinkMobile demos platform for creating mobile app-like experiences; showing “branch queue” app
  • BlinkMobile showing insurance claims app with photo integration & sketching capability 
  • Sandstone launching SmartBank with online/mobile banking, PFM & loans 
  • Sandstone showing loan application via iPad with home value integration; includes loan monitoring tool for user after submission 
  • Luminous launching BankFiling, which streamlines filing of docs by sm biz clients
  • Luminous showing how loan officer can identify problems & opportunities, e.g. to add interest penalty or cross sell
  • TradeHero launching virtual brokerage community for traders 
  • TradeHero demoing mobile trading leader board, with “trade heros” and their followers, which pay a fee shared with traders
  • Vermilian launching bancapp, a mobile platform using tile-based navigation 
  • Vermilian showing secure mobile inbox for secure messaging; demoing campaign with mobile product landing page & buying process 
  • Pandai showing P2P lending platform for the Chinese market
  • Pandai considers underwriter to be “third customer” (after lender & borrower) so have designed good UI for them 
  • Pandai has different loans for each segment; is only P2P platform that allows lenders to sell their loans, all or partial loans
  • CustomerXPs launching Clarify iRM, real-time Relationship Manager with “inference engine” 
  • CustomerXPs showing ipad with Skype integration; voice commands; use case when customer needs more funds on trip
  • Finantix debuting multi-channel Sharp Digital Banking platform with social elements, gamification #finovate 
  • Finantix showing ipad app with money transfer; integration w university database; “wonder bar” for natural language search 
  • Finantix showing Apple Passbook integration
  • Thats a wrap folks. Thanks to everybody for a great inaugural FinovateAsia!! See you next year. 
  • Congrats to FinovateAsia 2012 Best of Show winners: CurrencyFair, Finantix, SocietyOne, & UBank.

Finovate Alumni News– November 13, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgFinextra reports Connect.Me and miiCard team on verified social reputation card.
  • American Banker interviews Yaron Samid, BillGuard CEO, on How BillGuard Plans to Create A National Dispute Database for Banks.
  • Kony becomes the mobile platform of choice for Banco Itau Unibanco, 1 of the World’s top 10 banks.
  • Tech in Asia considers how tech demonstrated at FinovateAsia relates to banks.
  • Former PayPal President Scott Thompson joins PaySimple Board of Directors.
  • Deloitte names SecureKey as one of Canada’s Companies-to-Watch in the 2012 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards.
  • peerTransfer expands international payment services into Australian Markets.
  • Bank Innovation reports: Online Financial Services Provider Holvi Partnering with Crowdfunding Site Mesenaatti.
  • Vator News features Kevin Cimring, CEO of Jemstep.
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.

Finovate Alumni News– November 12, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTechCrunch reports Concur launches $150 mil “Perfect Trip Fund” to invest in travel startups; invests $2 mil in Evature’s Virtual Travel Agent.
  • Investment News examines how Boulevard R is involving advisors in 401(k) discussions.
  • Techgoondu lists 3 fintech startups from FinovateAsia to watch.
  • The Digital Insurer reports Finovate Singapore – A very impressive conference for financial services technology.
  • GigaOm reports: More startups let employees sell shares on SecondMarket amid IPO uncertainty.
  • Tech in Asia says TradeHero is probably one of the best startup ideas in Singapore.
  • Forbes considers the perspective of Ben Milne, Dwolla CEO on the future of money. 
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.

Finovate Alumni News– November 9, 2012

  • Billcom adds open APIs to banking platform.
  • Blackhawk Network Announces New Financial Service Products in Canada.
  • Startup Central looks at Heckyl, Clari5 and BankBazaar at FinovateAsia.
  • VentureBeat considers SecondMarket’s partnership with Angellist.
  • M.O. interviews Constancio Larguia, CEO & founder of Weemba.
  • SiliconBeat looks at Personal Capital’s 401(k) product.
  • Kabbage Becomes Exclusive Funding Provider for Bonanza Sellers.
  • American Banker reports: Bill.com Ties Cash-Flow Tools to Banks’ Small Business Software.
  • Finextra reports UBank gathers transaction data for spending comparison site.
  • ShopKeep POS announces entry into the quick serve market with full kitchen printing capabilities.
  • Mashable lists SimpleTuition, ReadyForZero, and Tuition.io as tools to help minimize student loan debt.
  • Capital Access Network moves Headquarters to NYC.
  • Crowdfund Insider reports SoMoLend Announces New York Expansion.
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.

Finovate Alumni News– November 8, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBill Dwight, CEO of FamZoo, interviewed by Unlock Your Wealth Radio.
  • TechCrunch reports BillGuard Teams Up With Lemon’s Mobile Wallet, Will Alert Users To Fraudulent Charges.
  • MyBankTracker reviews Betterment’s gift registry feature.
  • Tech in Asia describes why Striata caught its eye at FinovateAsia.
  • Personal Loan Finder looks at SocietyOne.
  • BetaKit reports ShopKeep adds employee time tracking feature to iPad POS system.
  • SecureKey launches Online Authentication Service for Government of Canada.
  • TechCrunch reports Lending Club Surpasses $1B In Personal Loans, Hits Profitability.
  • PaySimple Launches ReceivablesPro Turnkey Private-Label Solution.
  • Campaign Asia reports London-based Innovation Agency launches in Singapore.
  • At FinovateAsia, Barclays announces the launch of PFM powered by Strands.
  • SG Entrepreneurs covers Perfectsen’s launch of The Hook at FinovateAsia.
  • Des Moines Register covers Dwolla’s MassPay.
  • e27 lists 3 finance startups that caught their eye at FinovateAsia 2012.
  • Pando Daily reports Bazaarvoice replaces its CEO and acquires Longboard Media.
  • Finextra reports Authentify opens Japanese subsidiary.
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.

FinovateAsia 2012 Best of Show Winners: CurrencyFair, Finantix, SocietyOne and Ubank

Our first FinovateAsia wrapped up a few hours ago. At the end of the packed day, the Singapore audience voted for their favorite three demos from among the 35 contenders. The top four overall were named Best of Show (see notes).image

The winners (in alphabetic order):

  • CurrencyFair showed off its new Marketplace for peer-to-peer international transfers
  • imageFinantix launched Sharp digital banking platform to improve sales and service interaction
  • imageSocietyOne debuted its ClearMatch technology used to streamline the loan application process 
  • Ubank, a unit of National Australian Bank (NAB), launched imageits  peer-spending comparison tool, People like U

We’ll have videos of all 35 demos posted at Finovate.com within two weeks.

Thanks to everyone who presented, attended, tweeted, networked, blogged, and helped push fintech forward in Asia and beyond. You were a great audience!

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Notes on methodology
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.    
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during the day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their their favorites.   
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.” 
4. The four companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show. 
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners.

FinovateAsia 2012 Best of Show Winners: CurrencyFair, Finantix, SocietyOne and Ubank

Our first FinovateAsia wrapped up a few hours ago. At the end of the packed day, the Singapore audience voted for their favorite three demos from among the 35 contenders. The top four overall were named Best of Show (see notes).image

The winners (in alphabetic order):

  • CurrencyFair showed off its new Marketplace for peer-to-peer international transfers
  • imageFinantix launched Sharp digital banking platform to improve sales and service interaction
  • imageSocietyOne debuted its ClearMatch technology used to streamline the loan application process 
  • Ubank, a unit of National Australian Bank (NAB), launched imageits  peer-spending comparison tool, People like U

We’ll have videos of all 35 demos posted at Finovate.com within two weeks.

Thanks to everyone who presented, attended, tweeted, networked, blogged, and helped push fintech forward in Asia and beyond. You were a great audience!

———-

Notes on methodology
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.    
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during the day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their their favorites.   
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.” 
4. The four companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named Best of Show. 
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners.

Finantix Debuts Finantix Sharp Digital Banking Platform

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Concluding FinovateAsia 2012, Finantix launched Finantix Sharp:

“Finantix Sharp is a multi-channel platform for digital banking that introduces a new and exciting approach to customer interactions. Sales and service processes are made engaging, effective and paperless by applying user-friendly interfaces, gameful simulators, social and multimedia content, and natural language commands. Special focus is devoted to smooth collaboration of customers, banks and third parties in helping customers address their financial needs and reach their goals.” 

Product Launch: November 2012
HQ location: Venice, Italy
Founded: 1994
Website: finantix.com
Twitter@Finantix
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Alessandro Tonchia (Director & Founder) and Jakub Downar (Pre-Sales Manager)

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CustomerXPs’ Clari5 Empowers Relationship Managers to Provide More Personalized Services

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Then, CustomerXPs launched Clari5:

“Clari5 iRM brings extreme real-time intelligence to Relationship Managers (RMs) on the move. Typical RM apps are the extensions of CRM screens on the RM’s tablet or phone. As these are not connected in real-time to the underlying core systems, RMs are the last ones to know when a significant moment of truth event happens. Clari5 iRM is a next generation product that interprets customers’ structured/unstructured events in real-time and provides an inference instantly empowering RMs to provide more personalized services. 

Clari5 iRM also leverages the full power of the mobile/tablet by using its real-time push, GPS, voice recognition, video, and screen sharing capabilities. Through Clari5 iRM, RM would not only be the first person to know of a potential fraud or Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) situation, but also would be able to modify/stop the transaction.”

Product Launch: November 2012
HQ: Bangalore, India
Founded: December 2006
Metrics: 5+ year-old Enterprise Product company; $4M Series A from JAFCO; Gartner Cool Vendor 2012; Red Herring Asia 100, 2012 winner; Markets: Japan, Southeast Asia, Middle East & India
Twitter@customerxps
Finovate demo video: Demo videos will be posted next week
Introducing Rivi Varghese (CEO) and Madhavi Natukula (Marketing Manager)

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