This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateFall 2013.
Zooz is making its way to the stage right now. The company specializes in helping online merchants enhance and speed up the checkout process as well as improve conversions. "Zooz is a global payment platform that enables ecommerce merchants to optimize their checkout across all channels. We provide merchants and developers with a plug and play solution that lets them present their users with a fast, one-tap checkout experience and increase their conversion rates. Zooz's approach is focused on users' behaviors and needs and not just on technical aspects of payments. Zooz has partnered with leading payment gateways, processors, and e-wallets in the world to ensure that both users and retailers enjoy full flexibility." Product Launch: September 2013 Metrics: $4.5M in funding, 20 employees, & over 7,000 registered apps and websites Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), through…Saved Plus Presents Their Smart Saving Solution for Mobile and the Web
This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateFall 2013.
Next up to the stage is the team from Saved Plus with their solution to help individuals better and more efficiently save for the future. "Saved Plus is a mobile and web-based financial tool that allows clients to automatically transfer a predetermined percentage of their daily expenditures to the destination account of their choice. Our bank independent software allows people to make small, but frequent, automatic monetary contributions to savings, investments, retirement, and charity accounts, or payments to credit cards or loans in any U.S. bank, credit union or other financial institutions." Product Launch: April 10, 2013 Metrics: $500,000 invested; $250,000 raised, 12 employees, over 500 registered users since launch Product distribution strategy: Direct to Business (B2B), Direct to Consumer (B2C), through financial institutions, & licensed to retailers and other fintech companies. HQ: Mountain View, California Founded: February 2012 …Backbase Launches the Commercial Banking Edition of its 2.0 Portal
This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateFall 2013.
Then, Backbase launched its commercial banking offering: "We are launching Backbase for Commercial Banking. Think PFM for Corporates and UX for the CFOs. Backbase is offering the latest best practices in UX design and cross device customer journeys. The goal of the Commercial Banking Edition is to drastically bring down time-to-market for online and mobile banking projects. The Commercial Banking Edition comes pre-optimized for use on regular browsers, tablets, and smartphones and is completely manageable by the banks' digital team. Backbase for Commercial Banking is seamlessly integrated with the Backbase App Center, offering apps such as: Cash Management Dashboards Invoicing Entitlement and workflow Financing FX Trading Multi-currency ready" Product Launch: September 2013 Metrics: Privately funded, 150+ employees, offices in New York, Amsterdam, London, Singapore, & Moscow Product distribution strategy: Through financial institutions & licensed HQ: New…Motif Debuts a New Kind of Online Broker That Lets You Invest in Ideas in One Click
This post is part of our live coverage of FinovateFall 2013.
Welcome to FinovateFall 2013! Our first presenter here on Day One is Motif Investing. "Motif will demo the first-of-its-kind crowdsourcing of a financial product that uses Motif's innovative social technology. It enables investors to take concepts and ideas and in minutes create a motif, a collection of up to 30 securities that trades real time for only $9.95. The investor can then publish it to the Motif website so it is discoverable and searchable for the broader community. The investor's motif will also be featured in the Community Catalog, which is akin to an online app store. The catalog will provide intuitive categorization and search functionality that allows other customers to buy these mofits and when that happens, the motif's creator will be paid a royalty." Product Launched: Target date is September 2013 Metrics: $51M raised to date…FinovateFall 2013: “And Oh What Heights We’ll Hit”
"On with the show, this is it!"
We're busier than a hive of honeybees here on rehearsal day as we put the final touches on FinovateFall 2013. The show begins Tuesday morning, September 10th at 9:00 am, and continues through Wednesday. This year's event is sold out, but fortunately there's more than one way to enjoy the show.
Live blogging and tweeting The Finovate team will be live-blogging each and every presentation as it happens here at the Manhattan Center in New York City. You can also follow us on Twitter as we'll be tweeting from @Finovate all day long Tuesday and Wednesday. You'll also get to read observations and reactions from our audience of more than 1,100 people who will be joining the conversation via the #finovate hashtag. Schedule If you're going to be with us tomorrow, know that registration begins at 8:00 am on both Tuesday and…Finovate Alumni News– September 6, 2013
Fiserv launches Predictive Scores tool that models customer behavior. Come see Fiserv at FinovateFall next week.
First Federal Savings Bank implements PFM through MoneyDesktop. Check out MoneyDesktop's new solution at FinovateFall in NYC.
PayPal Updates iOS And Android Apps With The Ability To Order Ahead, Pay Restaurant Bills, Access Bill Me Later And More.
Woodinville Water District Achieves Significant Increase in Paperless Water Bills in the First 90 Days of doxo Implementation.
Members Choice CU To Offer PFM Powered By Geezeo.
Braintree adds new layer of fraud protection for merchants.
Finovate alumni driving growth in online investment advisory industry.
VentureBeat takes a look at Yodlee Interactive.
Forbes features article on Narrative Science's
Quill. Come see them at FinovateFall next week.
Quill. Come see them at FinovateFall next week.
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…
Think You’re Prepared for FinovateFall Next Week? Download the Upgraded Finovate App to Be Your Guide
To help you prepare for FinovateFall in New York on September 10 and 11, download the new Fall edition of the Finovate app, now available in the Apple app store and Google Play store.
To download, search "Finovate" in the app store or use the links below:
iOS AndroidWith this improved version, you'll have all the information about FinovateFall at your fingertips on your iPhone, Android, or tablet device.
If you've previously downloaded the app on your mobile device, be sure to update to the new version prior to the conference.
Features include:
Full agenda Link to Finovate Connect networking tool Presenting company descriptions & contact info Company categoriesNew interactive elements include:
My Finovate: Save personalized notes & ratings for each company and email them as a Trip Report Contact button: Ask questions and schedule followups with presenters Scheduler: Manage your conference schedule Register for upcoming conferences, find…Finovate Alumni Driving Growth in Online Investment Advisory Industry
If an investment portfolio gets optimized through an online investment advisor, do brick and mortar brokers make a sound?
As noted in today's Wall Street Journal, many of the kinds of services that once were accessible only by high net worth investors patronizing financial advisors and planners in person are now available to the rest of us. This includes everything from using computer algorithms to make investment decisions to automatic portfolio rebalancing and asset allocation.
And of the seven companies highlighted in the column for helping make this possible, every single one is a Finovate alum. Wealthfront (FinovateStartup 2009) Personal Capital (FinovateFall 2012) Jemstep (FinovateSpring 2013) FutureAdvisor (FinovateSpring 2012) Betterment (FinovateFall 2011) SigFig (FinovateFall 2011) LearnVest (FinovateFall 2012) In fact, two of the seven - FutureAdvisor and LearnVest - will be demoing their latest technology…Finovate Alumni News– September 5, 2013
The Austin business Journal ranks Q2ebanking #29 of Austin-based Largest Private Companies.
City National partners with cloud accounting platform Xero.
Forrester Research names Ping Identity a leader in Identity and Access Management Suites, Q3 2013 report.
Allre and miiCard partner for First Complete Platform to Sell a Home Purely Online.
Wipit-powered Boost Mobile Wallet to provide Quick Check Service.
WSJ column takes a look at online investment advisors like Wealthfront, Personal Capital, Jemstep, and FutureAdvisor that use algorithms. Meet FutureAdvisor at FinovateFall in New York.
Float Money partners with credit reporting agency eCredable to offer consumers interest-free loans. See Float Money at FinovateFall in New York next week.
Finovate alums Betterment and LearnVest highlighted in Wall Street Journal column on innovations in the online investment advisory business. Watch LearnVest demo their technology next week at FinovateFall.
This post will be updated throughout the day…
Launching: Zazma Offers Drop-Dead Simple Short-term Business Credit
To continue our look at outstanding lending UI's (previous post), I present to you Zazma. The startup, which came out of stealth yesterday, has raised $10 million to finance small loans of $300 to $5,000 for up to 60 days. The initial funding came from Sequoia and Spark Capital.
This is a business that almost no bank wants, which makes it ripe for startups. But it can be lucrative. Because the business borrowers are using the money to buy needed equipment or inventory, they are much less focused on the interest rate, if they believe the cash advanced will earn them a profit. It's the secret sauce of successful startups Kabbage, Capital Access Network and On Deck Capital (note 1).
As you can see from the screenshot below, the maximum loan, $5,000 for 60 days, earns Zazma a healthy $295 fee. Assuming it's…
FinovateFall 2013: Big Lights, Big City, Big Show
Next week fintech startups and established enterprises from across the country and the world will begin arriving at the financial capital of the world New York City, New York to take part in FinovateFall 2013.
Take a look for yourself (click to enlarge):
FinovateFall 2013 is a great opportunity to meet the entrepreneurs and executives from some of the most forward-looking startups and established companies in the industry. We still see typically strong representation from the fintech of the coasts. But we also see a number of companies from the Midwest, the South, and from overseas, all stepping forward to meet the challenges of helping people and businesses make, manage, and move their money, 24/7, 365 days a year. Selling our 1,100th ticket this morning, FinovateFall 2013 is officially sold out. But there are plenty of ways for you to catch all the action next week as our fintech innovators…
Check Secures $24 Million Financing Round
Check announced this morning that it had completed a Series C investment round that will boost the company's capital by $24 million.
This funding round was led by new investor Menlo Ventures, and included participation from current investors Morgenthaler Ventures and Pitango Venture Capital.
Check will put the capital to good use helping expand the business and grow the company's role in making it easier for consumers to track, manage, and pay their bills. Said Check CEO, Guy Goldstein, "Americans make $4 trillion worth of bill payments per year, and Check is transforming the bill payment industry with a simple, fast, and easy-to-use mobile app." In addition to the funding, Check will also gain a pair of new board members. Doug Carlisle of Menlo Ventures will be joining the company's board of directors, as will founder and former CEO of CompuCom, Avery More. This latest round puts Check's total venture…