Dwolla Releases Developers Tools

DwollaLogo.jpgEarlier this week, Dwolla rolled out two payment tools for developers, the Facilitator and an off-site gateway:


  1. Facilitator: “Enables developers to set up a piece of software that incorporates Dwolla and keep a part of the transaction for themselves.”
  2. Off-site gateway: “Allows an online business to tie into the Dwolla API in a fashion similar to the PayPal Express Checkout flow. During the checkout process, a customer jumps to Dwolla’s website, finalizes an order, and then moves back to the merchant site, where all of the order information is neatly tied up.”

To learn more about Dwolla’s payment platform, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo

Dwolla Announces New Proxi Service

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Payment startup Dwolla announced a new service called Proxi that will allow its 40,000 users to pay each other or a business via mobile device, based on proximity.
“The new tech will allow users to convert their Dwolla enabled devices into movable Spots to seamlessly take payments without additional hardware, like NFC or dongles.”
ProximityIMG1.jpg
This service uses GPS to enable consumers to locate nearby contacts (businesses or individuals) and pay them using nothing but their mobile device. 
To learn more about Dwolla, watch their demo from FinovateSpring 2011.

Alumni News — Week of August 1, 2011

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Bobber Interactive

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Tech Flash interviewed Eric Eastman, Bobber Interactive’s CEO, on how the gamification of money management aims to help Generation Y better manage their money. Link 
BrightScope
BrightScope released a report detailing the top 12 small-cap funds in America’s 401k plans. This report is part of a series that provides insight into the top funds and managers in the retirement marketplace. Link
ChargeSmart
Discover is offering an instant rebate to customers who pay their utility bills using a Discover Card on ChargeSmart’s website. Link

Check Point Software Technologies
  • Check Point enhanced its Software Blade Architecture by releasing R75.20, a comprehensive approach to security that includes a URL filtering Software Blade, SSL inspection, and data loss prevention. Link
  • The Wall Street Journal discussed Check Point’s ZoneAlarm SocialGuard that helps parents protect children on Facebook in a non-intrusive manner. Link
Clairmail
Clairmail announced  record growth this quarter, with more than a 60% increase in bookings from last quarter. Link
Clovr Media

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  • BostInnovation stated that Clovr Media is changing the way consumers collect loyalty rewards through its Card-Linked Ads that allow consumers to access rewards by clicking on an advertisement. Link
  • Mass High Tech’s weekly Startup Watch listed Clovr Media as one of five startups to follow. Link
Credit.com 
EQuicknews listed Credit.com as a free way to check your credit score with no strings attached and highlighed the Credit Report Card feature. Link
doxo 
The Appvita blog profiled doxo, noting insider tips and practical uses, such as comparing bills on a month-to-month basis. Link
Dwolla
Bank Technology News looked at the players in the mobile payments space and listed Dwolla as a formidable competitor. Link
EDO Interactive

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EDO Interactive received $20 million in Series B funding to grow its Prewards platform that enables advertisers to offer digital deals and incentives that consumers redeem by using their existing credit, debit, or prepaid cards. Link
eToro
eToro began a trading contest for users with both demo and live trading accounts. Traders who accumulate the greatest gains will win each round. Link
eWise
eWise added Renasant Bank to its customer base, providing Renasant customers access to Secure Vault Payments, an alternative payment method. Link
Expensify
  • Expensify added a new feature that provides QuickBooks users a way to easily identify billable expenses to add to invoices. Link
  • The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal listed Expensify as one of ten business apps for empowering your inner geek. Link
Kony Solutions 

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Tower Group, in its Review of North American Consumer Mobile Banking Technology Vendors, ranked Kony Solutions among the top mobile banking technology vendors. Kony excelled in the feature/function and customization categories. Link
Lending Club 
TechCrunch highlighted Lending Club’s announcement of $25 million in Series D financing from Union Square Ventures and other existing investors. Link
Lendio
Lendio added Cardinal Bank to its network of lenders providing clients with more options in finding equipment loans, business lines of credit, acquisition financing, commercial real estate, SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans. Link

Mitek Systems
Mitek Systems launched  Mobile Imaging Cloud Service that captures, extracts, and routes information contained in documents. The service helps app developers create smartphone and tablet apps that use a camera input function. Link
Monitise 
Monitise Asia Pacific launched its mobile banking, payments, and commerce services in Indonesia and signed a joint venture agreement with PT Astra Graphia Information Technology, an information and communication business. Link
On Deck Capital

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On Deck Capital raised $19 million of its own in a Series C round of funding. Link

RobotDough 
RobotDough founder, Wilton Risenhoover, revealed why he started RobotDough and how it works. Link
SafetyPay
SafetyPay received a Payment Services Directive License to provide cross-border payments throughout Europe strengthening its position in that market. Link
SecondMarket 
BostInnovation used SecondMarket’s alternative investments platform to discover top Boston companies. Link
Striata

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Baton Rouge Water Company selected Striata, along with payment services company Western Union, to provide email billing with integrated electronic payment service. Link
The Receivables Exchange 
Treasury & Risk profiled The Receivables Exchange, describing the process companies use to sell their receivables on the online platform. Link

TradeKing
TradeKing launched a $100 bonus for new customers who open an account by August 31, 2011. Link
Wonga 
Smarta interviewed Wonga director, John Moorwood, about Wonga’s growth over the past 12 months. Wonga is now issuing over 1.5 million short-term loans. Link
Xero
Xero released Xero Touch, its new accounting app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Link

Dwolla Passes $1 Million In Transactions Per Day Milestone

Payment platform Dwolla has been circulating around news headlines lately, and for good 

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reason. The startup recently announced that it is processing more than one million dollars in transactions per day. This news comes just seven months after launching its service and three months after achieving one million dollars in transactions per month.
Profile
Location: Des Moines, IA
Funding: $1.31 million
Founded: June 2008
Users: 20,000
Business Model: Dwolla charges merchants 25 cents per transaction.
User Experience
There are multiple ways to pay using Dwolla. The following scenario walks through the user experience of purchasing a coffee.
1) After establishing a profile, enter your bank account information. Here’s the email that describes how to verify your bank account:

BankAcct.jpg

2) Transfer funds from your bank account into your new Dwolla account. Dwolla confirms that funds are now available:
 

Dwolla Funds.jpg

3) Find a business that accepts Dwolla payments. Dwolla Spots (mobile and online) locates a business near you, like this coffee shop:
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3) To purchase your coffee, tell the cashier you’ll be paying with Dwolla. Find and select the merchant on Dwolla Spots, then enter your PIN and the payment amount.
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4) Review the payment amount and send the money to the merchant. 
IMG_0110.PNG5) The merchant completes the transaction using a Dwolla “Kiosk” on an iPhone, Android, Windows 7, or computer with a wi-fi connection. Here’s what it looks like from their side:

MerchantExperience.jpg

 
That’s it. There’s no dirty cash or digging out a credit card. And for the merchant, there is no extra hardware necessary and no need to store credit card information.
To learn more, check out Dwolla’s website or FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

Alumni News — Week of July 18, 2011

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ChargeSmart 
AOL’s Daily Finance highlighted Chargesmart’s secondary gift card market that allows 

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consumers to pay for bills in exchange for gift cards. Link
CheckFree 
Family Wealth Report stated that CheckFree is leading the way in UMA processing. Link
Credit Karma 
  • CBS Money Watch discussed Credit Karma’s data on America’s debt. Link
  • Fox Business News listed Credit Karma’s credit score simulator tool as a 15-minute fix for your credit score. Link
doxo 
Practical Ecommerce listed doxo as one of 17 apps for productivity. Link
Dwolla  
  • Dwolla hit $1 million in payments per day and Ben Milne, CEO, shared a sneak peak of future plans. Link
  • Ace Community Credit Union provided customers with access to Dwolla through its site.
  • Dwolla CEO Ben Milne explained why starting a business in Iowa isn’t hard. Link
  • Dwolla introduced a new Autoload feature. Link
  • Dwolla was listed on The Next Web as one of eight awesome ways to pay with your phone. Link
eToro 
eToro Partners began testing a new foreign exchange affiliate tool called Custom Links. Link
Expensify 
  • The Info.rmatics blog testified to Expensify’s ease of use. Link
  • ipCommerce showcased Expensify’s innovation. Link
GoalMine 

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Mango Money added GoalMine to its list of services. Link
HelpMyCash 
HelpMyCash revamped its website to be more consumer-friendly. Link
IDTheft 911
Barnstable County Mutual Insurance Company selected Identity Theft 911 for its LifeStages service. Link
iPay Technologies 
TechCrunch reported that Bill Ready, former President of iPay Technologies, joined Accel Partners as an Executive in Residence. Link
Lending Club 
  • ATM Options discussed seven good reasons to invest through Lending Club. Link
  • Netbanker discussed Lending Club’s record high growth. Link
Lendio 
  • Lendio added TAB Bank to its network of lenders. Link
  • Reuters reported that Swift Capital and Lendio partnered to help small businesses. Link
mFoundry 

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  • American Banker considered Bank of America’s recent investment in mFoundry. Link
  • Credit Union Journal discussed Colombia Credit Union’s adoption of mFoundry’s mobile banking. Link
Mint.com
  • Mint.com introduced a manual transactions feature for its iPhone app. Link
  • TechCrunch reported Mint.com’s debut of a new feature that tracks bills and sends reminders. Link
Monitise 
  • Monitise signed over 6,000 users in Nigeria to a mobile payments trial. Link
  • TechMarketView discussed Monitise’s financial success. Link
peerTransfer 
Yahoo! Finance reported peerTransfer’s growth in international student payment processing. Link
Prosper 
  • Netbanker discussed Prosper’s record high growth. Link
  • Prosper raised its interest rates by 2.5 percent. Link
SmartyPig 
SmartyPig introduced its back-to-school cash giveaway contest. Link
ThreatMetrix 
ThreatMetrix announced its upcoming user conference October 9th through 10th. Link
TradeKing 
TradeKing launched a new video series to help consumers understand options trading. Link
Tyfone 

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Oregonlive.com described Tyfone as a major player in mobile payments. Link
Wikinvest 
Forex Promos shared an interview with Mike Sha, Wikinvest CEO. Link
Xero 
Reuters reported that Xero agreed to acquire Paycycle, a payroll company. Link

Zecco 
Wealth Building Tips and Strategies blog shared Zecco’s options trading video series. Link
ZimpleMoney 
ZimpleMoney adjusted its services in response to the Dodd-Frank reform. Link

Alumni News — Week of July 11, 2011

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Last week, AlwaysOn released its 2011 AlwaysOn Global 250 Top Private Companies List that represents the top emerging companies Worldwide. Twelve Finovate Alumni were selected:
  • BillFloat
  • Bling Nation
  • Boku
  • Cardlytics
  • ClairMail
  • Expensify
  • IDAnalytics
  • Lending Club
  • SecondMarket
  • Wikinvest
  • Wonga
  • Yodlee
_________________________________________________________________________
In other Alumni News:
Aptys Solutions

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Aptys Solutions announced that the ACH functionality in its PayLogics payment platform provides same-day settlement. Link 
Balance Financial
  • Balance Financial launched Balance Certified Pro, a new software that is geared toward professionals. Link
  • Balance Financial released an iPhone App. Link
BillGuard
TechCrunch reported that BillGuard’s “Anti-virus for Bills” is now completely free for users. Link
BrightScope
CNNMoney’s article, Simplify Your Retirement Savings, pointed to BrightScope to provide a clear understanding of retirement savings. Link
ChargeSmart
ChargeSmart announced that its Bill Payments customers can now pay many of their utility bills with an American Express card. Link
Continuity Control
Continuity Control raised $1.1 million in financing from convertible promissory notes and warrants. Link
Cortera

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The Miami Herald reported that Cortera’s Risk Data and Reporting is now an SAP-endorsed business solution. Link
Cortal Consors
Institutional Investor ranked Oliver Le Grand, CEO of Cortal Consors, number 13 of 50 in its Tech 50 ranking of financial tech leaders and innovators. Link
Credit Karma
Credit Karma’s new feature, Credit Alerts is available for free to the first 200 people to click the link. Link
Credit Sesame
The Hands On Home Buyer blog recommended Credit Sesame for its interactive property taxes tool. Link
Currensee
The Business Insider reported that Currensee plans to launch its Trade Leaders program in China. Link
Dwolla
  • The E-News publication, Business Record, commented on Dwolla’s positive impact on Iowa’s startup culture. Link
  • Financial Plus Credit Union adopted Dwolla’s FiSync integration. Link
Dynamics
Dynamics revealed its angel investors in Series A and Series B funding rounds. Link
Guardian Analytics
  • American Banker reported that Guardian Analytics is planning to launch an outsourced fraud prevention service that will help financial institutions meet new FFIEC guidelines. Link
  • Guardian Analytics introduced its FraudDESK service to provide fraud analytics support to financial institutions. Link
  • Guardian Analytics is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday that will explore FFIEC guidance. Link
iPay Technologies
iPay Technologies helped Generations Community Federal Credit Union increase bill pay adoption and its number of transactions. Link
Lending Club
  • San Francisco ABC News Channel 7 explained the benefits of P2P loans from Lending Club. Link
  • Finextra news blog discussed Lending Club’s success. Link
  • American Banker reported that, in June, Lending Club saw an increase of 7% in loans originated that totaled a record $20 million. Link
Lodo Software
The Silicon Prairie News reported that Lodo Software is seeking to raise $5 million in a round of Series D funding. Link

mFoundry
Columbia Credit Union announced that it deployed mFoundry’s mBanking, a mobile banking platform. Link
Mitek

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MSN Money reported that Mitek Systems began a NASDAQ market listing on July 14th, and is trading under the symbol MITK. Link
Monitise 
  • CNBC reported that Monitise’s ReliaCard will be offered to U.S. Bank’s Visa cardholders in some states. Link
  • Monitise, US Bank, and FIS announced that they are planning to offer a mobile app for Visa’s ReliaCard users. Link
Prosper
  • San Francisco’s ABC News Channel 7 explained the benefits of P2P loans from Prosper. Link
  • Finextra news blog discussed Prosper’s success with its P2P lending service. Link
Q2ebanking
Q2ebanking’s director of security solutions, Ward Howell, published an article detailing a Credit Union’s perspective of the FFIEC guidelines in The Credit Union Ti
mes. Link
Receivables Exchange
Institutional Investor ranked Justin Brownhill and Nicolas Perkin, Co-Founders of The Receivables Exchange, as number 42 of 50 in its Tech 50 ranking of financial tech leaders and innovators. Link
Standard Chartered
Institutional Investor ranked Jan Verplancke, CIO of Standard Chartered, as number 37 of 50 in its Tech 50 ranking of financial tech leaders and innovators. Link
TILE Financial

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Daily Finance interviewed Amy Butte, CEO of TILE Financial. Link
TradeKing
TradeKing announced the public availability of its API. Link
Tyfone 
CoVantage Credit Union chose to implement Tyfone’s mobile wallet solution. Link
Zopa 
  • Zopa founder Giles Andrews was interviewed on BBC’s The Bottom Line. Link
  • Finextra news blog discussed Zopa’s success as a P2P lending service. Link

Alumni News — Week of July 4, 2011

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Boku

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CNNMoney examined Zong’s competition with Boku. Link
BrightScope
  • The Forbes blog recommended BrightScope as a tool to check your financial advisor’s history. Link
  • The Washington Examiner discussed how BrightScope helps consumers make informed decisions about their 401(k) plan. Link
Clairmail
Clairmail increased its security by using authentication from the RSA Secured Partner Program. Link
Credit Karma
The Forbes blog recommended Credit Karma as a tool to track and monitor your credit score. Link
Credit Sesame

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The Forbes blog recommended Credit Sesame as a tool to track and monitor your credit score. Link

Dwolla
Dwolla updated its iPhone app to allow customers to send money via email. Link
Dynamics
American Banker discussed Dynamics’ adaptability to the mobile payment world. Link
Enloop
Small Biz Technology outlined three of Enloop’s features. Link
eToro
AlphaTrade Finance discussed eToro’s CopyTrader network. Link
Expensify
Expensify’s app was listed as Gearburn’s App of the WeekLink
Finsphere

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GeekWire reviewed Finsphere’s new round of $1.75 million funding. Link
Geezeo
American Banker reported that Geezeo’s partnership with Sharetec Systems will help Geezeo reach more credit unions. Link

Guardian Analytics
The Street reported that Guardian Analytics’ Anomaly Detection & Fraud Monitoring will help financial institutions meet updated FFIEC guidelines. Link

Kony Solutions
Kony Solutions announced a partnership with Donriver for the delivery of multi-channel mobile apps. Link
Mint.com
The Quickbooks blog examined Mint.com’s PFM tool. Link
Monitise Americas

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Monitise developed two banking apps designed for the iPad for NatWest and RBS. Link
PayNearMe
The Paypers interviewed Avangate and PayNearMe regarding their partnership and various future endeavors. Link
PayPal
TechCrunch speculated that eBay’s acquisition of Zong  will advance PayPal’s mobile payments. Link
ProfitStars
Credit Union Times discussed ProfitStars’ partnership with Corporate One Credit Union. Link
Prosper
The Social Lending Network reviewed Prosper’s new Quick Invest feature. Link
Q2ebanking

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Q2ebanking commented on the security implications of the new FFIEC guidelines. Link
RobotDough
The Motley Fool highlighted RobotDough as a powerful new tool for individual investors. Link
SilverTail Systems
  • Credit Union Times reported that SilverTail Systems’ capabilities enable financial institutions to comply with FFIEC guidelines. Link
  • Homeland Security Television profiled SilverTail Systems. Link

ThreatMetrix
ThreatMetrix enhanced its security in anticipation of FFIEC guidelines. Link
TradeKing
Stockbrokers4u.com analyzed TradeKing’s services. Link
Xero
Xero hired a CFO onto to its team. Link
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Yodlee
  • Yodlee released its new MoneyCenter app. Link
  • Quickbooks’ blog examined Yodlee’s PFM tool. Link
  • TechCrunch reported that Yodlee reached 30M users. Link

Alumni News — Week of June 27, 2011

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ActivePath
A top Brazilian card issuer implemented an ActivePath solution. Link
AlphaClone
AlphaClone incorporated new sentiment scores into its stock view pages. Link
Bills.com
Bills.com released the results from its Consumer Money Survey that gauges money attitudes and behaviors. Link
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Blaze Mobile
Blaze Mobile was awarded a patent for NFC on stickers. Link
BOKU
BOKU released 1-Tap Mobile Billing for the Android and took it live in 56 countries. Link
Braintree
Braintree received $34M in Series A funding from Accel. Link
Currensee

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Reuters outlined the benefits of Currensee. Link
Credit Karma
Credit Karma CEO Ken Lin advised consumers how they should deal with credit card offers. Link
doxo 
doxo won the Stevie Award for New Product of the Year for financial services in the 2011 American Business Awards. Link
Dwolla
Dwolla said its Grid payment network is more secure than Visa and MasterCard’s card networks. Link
Dynamics
Dynamics raised $35M for computerized smartcards and payment systems. Link
eToro

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Reuters outlined the benefits of eToro. Link
eWise
gotoBilling, Inc. added eWise’s Secure Vault Payments as another payment platform. Link
Expensify
The Wall Street Journal listed Expensify as a must-have mobile tech tool for entrepreneurs. Link
Fiserv
Fiserv entered into an agreement to acquire CashEdge for $465 million to advance its digital payments and channel strategies. Link

Guardian Analytics

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Yahoo! Finance reported that Guardian Analytics’ FraudMAP is helping financial institutions meet FFIEC guidelines. Link
HelloWallet
HelloWallet was added to Mercer’s Outsourcing business benefits administration. Link
Intuit
Intuit purchased Mobile Money Ventures’ web banking technology to augment its mobile banking capabilities. Link
Kony Solutions

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The American Business Awards selected Kony Solutions as the Most Innovative Company of the YearLink
Lendio
The Launch blog highlighted Lendio. Link
Outright
Outright rolled out a new report function allowing clients to view sales by state. Link
PayPal
PayPal reached 100 million active users. Link

Profit Stars
Profit Stars introduced its new Remote Deposit Anywhere solution. Link
Prosper
  • Former Lending Club director Joseph Toms joined Prosper as its Chief Investment Officer. Link
  • The San Francisco Times reported on Prosper’s growth. Link
Q2ebanking

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Q2ebanking was noted as a service to help community financial institutions meet FFIEC Guidance. Link
SimpleTuition
SimpleTuition expanded its student loan payment options by partnering with Discover Card. Link
SmartyPig
SmartyPig was recommended by Mint.com as a way to save for impulse purchases. Link
TradeKing
TradeKing implemented SunGard’s MarketMap to deliver market data to its active trading platform. Link
UBank
Mashable highlighted UBank’s feedback forum. Link
Voice Commerce
Voice Commerce launched a payment solution for the iPhone. Link
Wikinvest

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PC mag reviewed Wikinvest’s mobile app. Link
Xero
Tech Day assessed Xero’s Debtor Daddy service. Link

Alumni News– Week of June 20, 2011

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AlphaClone
AlphaClone launched a new feature that measures sentiment. Link
BillFLO
Taulia acquired BillFLO. Link
Bills.com

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Bills.com shared money-saving strategies for recent college graduates. Link
BrightScope
BrightScope was highlighted on the Tuscon NBC news channel series, “4 Your Money.” Link
CashEdge
Ally Bank began offering CashEdge’s Popmoney service. Link
Continuity Control

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LEVERAGE, the Service Corporation for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, began offering Continuity Control’s CreditUnion Assistant program. Link
CreditKarma
Credit Karma introduced its Approval Odds service to help avoid being declined for a card. Link
Currensee
Currensee reached $6 billion in trading volume and $12 million under management. Link
doxo
The MakeUseOf blog reviewed doxo’s online filing cabinet. Link
Dwolla
  • Dwolla CEO commented on the Bitcoin virtual currency debate, exchange, and hysteria.  Link
  • Dwolla’s fees were compared to PayPal’s. Link
  • Silicon Prairie News discussed Dwolla CEO’s comments on Bitcoin. Link
eWise
eWise Payo’s smartphone app won the Editor’s Award for Consumer Focus at the 2011 Cards International Awards. Link
Expensify

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  • The Dallas News highlighted Expensify. Link
  • Expensify was listed as one of 25 tools to help you manage spending by cmvlive.com Link
HelloWallet
HelloWallet posted a short video series explaining its wealth-tracking service. Link
Jwaala

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KEMBA Financial Credit Union implemented Jwaala’s platform. Link
Lending Club
  • Lending Club is approaching its financial breakeven point. Link
  • Reuters commented on Lending Club’s P2P marketplace. Link
Lendio
Lendio helped banks increase business loans by finding qualified borrowers. Link
Mortgagebot

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Mortgagebot and Business Solutions extended their Tech Alliance to provide mortgage application solutions at preferred terms. Link
PayNearMe
PayNearMe facilitated 7-Eleven’s partnership with Greyhound for cash transactions. Link
Prosper
Reuters commented on Prosper’s P2P marketplace. Link
Receivables Exchange

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The Receivables Exchange won 2011 “Management Team of the Year” at the Stevie Awards. Link
Strands
Strands Personal Finance landed in the 2011 Red Herring Top 100 North America list. Link
TradeKing
TradeKing announced its free webinar series on trading advice beginning July 12th. Link
Voice Commerce

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Voice Commerce launched its CashFlows app. Link
Xero
Getapp.com reviewed Xero’s cloud-based software. Link

Alumni News — Week of June 13, 2011

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AcceptEmail
AcceptEmail partnered with WorldPay to launch an e-billing and online payment service. Link
Balance
GeekWire interviewed Balance Financial CEO, Devin Miller. Link
BancVue
BancVue executives won Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Link
BankOns
Examiner.com referred to BankOns as the new GroupOn. Link
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BillShrink
BillShrink was featured in The New York Times. Link
BrightScope
Forbes reported on BrightScope’s list of exchange-traded funds held in America’s 401k plans. Link

CheckFree
CheckFree expanded its functionality to support account-to-account and peer-to-peer transfers. Link
Clairmail

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Clairmail joined the RSA Secured Partner Program to provide secure access to mobile banking. Link
doxo
  • doxo CEO explained paperless billing in a video interview, highlighting the mobile app. Link
  • doxo was featured on the Top Productivity Apps website. Link
  • Northwest Innovation reviewed doxo’s mobile app. Link
Dwolla
TechCrunch reported that Dwolla hit a milestone of $1M in transactions per week. Link
Enloop
  • Business News Daily interviewed Enloop CEO, Cynthia McCahon, about creating a “living business plan”. Link
  • Huffington Post spotlighted Enloop. Link
eRollover
eRollover launched an online solution for financial advisors to grow practices. Link

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eWise announced its partnership with Affirmative Technologies to speed the adoption of
alternative payment methods. Link
Kiboo
Kiboo launched a public site called “Know Your Money”.  Link
Lending Club
  • Lending Club posted a video of their five-word acceptance speech at the Webby Awards. Link
  • The Wall Street Journal noted Lending Club as leading the way in P2P lending. Link
mFoundry
  • mFoundry helped Starbucks build an app for Android. Link
  • mFoundry passed the 400 customer milestone. Link
Mitek
Mitek’s mobile check deposit was cited as the number one feature that would cause you to switch banks. Link
Monitise
  • ComputerWeekly discussed the survey Monitise conducted on mobile banking. Link
  • Forbes discussed Monitises’ deal with Visa. Link
peerTransfer
  • peerTransfer is hosting a free webinar on international student payment processing this Wednesday, June 22. Link
  • peerTransfer won the Innovation Award from Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange. Link
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  • Prosper announced that it is giving away an iPad2 to new investors. Link
  • The Wall Street Journal noted Prosper as leading the way in P2P lending. Link
SafetyPay
SafetyPay was selected by BorderJump as its preferred payment solution for cross border transactions. Link
SmartyPig
Fox Business News suggested using SmartyPig.com as a tool to help “pump up” savings. Link
Tagit 
Tagit helped Commonwealth Bank launch its first mobile app. Link
ThreatMetrix
  • ThreatMetrix announced its cloud-based fraud prevention platform. Link
  • ThreatMetrix launched “ThreatMetrix Fraud Facts,” a free downloadable report. Link
Tyfone
  • Tyfone was awarded an NFC over-the-air and over-the-wire seminal patent. Link
  • American Banker reviewed Tyfone’s mobile payment patent. Link
  • NFC Rumors looked at how Tyfone uses SD cards to enable NFC transactions. Link

Alumni News — Week of June 6, 2011

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Andera
  • Andera launched FortiFI, a new fraud prevention system. Link 
  • Andera CEO Charlie Kroll discussed the release of FortiFI. Link 
ChargeSmart
  • ChargeSmart launched ChargeSmart Direct to provide customers with additional access to support staff. Link 
  • Fox Business News highlighted ChargeSmart and PlasticJungle’s gift card trading service as a way to make savings fun. Link   
Check Point Software Technologies 
Check Point announced the 2012 version of ZoneAlarm. Link 
Currensee 

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  • Forex Crunch outlined the benefits of Currensee, describing its profitability as “significantly high”. Link 
  • The Street highlighted Curensee as a startup that “rocks” the financial house. Link 
doxo
  • Chicago Tribune discussed doxo’s step toward a paperless society. Link 
  • TechCrunch & VentureBeat featured the launch of doxo’s mobile app, a mobile digital filing cabinet. Link  and Link 
  • Macworld took a closer look at doxo’s new app. Link   
Dwolla

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  • Dwolla released Grid, a feature that protects personal user information. Link 
  • The Street highlighted Dwolla as a startup that “rocks” the financial house. Link 
  • The Next Web interviewed Dwolla about its API. Link 
Enloop 
StartUp Beat profiled Enloop. Link
eWise 
eWise raised $14 million in funding. Link
Expensify 

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CNNMoney named Expensify as one of five best apps for businesses. Link
FreeMonee 
CardTrak.com examined FreeMonee’s gift network. Link
Ftrans 
Ftrans raised $650,000 in equity financing. Link
GoalMine 
GoalMine won The Core Underbanked Innovators Challenge at the 6th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum hosted by Core Innovation Capital. Link
Jemstep 

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Jemstep launched a new version of its service that features many improvements. Link
mFoundry 
The Washington Post reported that mFoundry’s mobile deposit service is its most requested feature. Link
Mitek
  • Mitek Systems was granted 4 more patents for its mobile deposit feature. Link 
  • Bank Technology News discussed Mitek’s new patents. Link 
Monitise
  • Monitise launched its services in India. Link 
  • The Wall Street Journal covered Monitise’s 5-year agreement with Visa. Link 
  • TechCrunch examined Monitise’s recent deal with Visa. Link  
Prosper 
Prosper raised $17.5 million in funding from investors. Link
RobotDough
The Street highlighted RobotDough as a startup that “rocks” the financial house. Link

SecondMarket 
CNBC interviewed Barry Silbert, CEO of SecondMarket, regarding its role in IPOs. Link
Silver Tail Systems 
Silver Tail Systems raised $20M in a Series B funding round. Link

Striata 
Striata partnered with POCiT to enable bill payments. Link
Sybase 
Sybase was named the most successful database software vendor in China. Link
ThreatMetrix  

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ThreatMetrix collaborated with USA ePay to provide fraud prevention to online retailers. Link
TradeKing 
TradeKing partnered with CoolTrade for automatic stock trades. Link
UBank 
UBank voiced that it will change the banking industry by using the web and mobile technology. Link
Zopa 

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BBC’s Radio 2 interviewed Zopa CEO Giles Andrews about P2P lending. Link 

Alumni News — Week of May 30, 2011

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Betterment
Medill Reports discussed the benefits of Betterment and Currensee, claiming that the social networking craze changes the way some people invest. Link
BrightScope
BrightScope announced the top 10 treasury inflation protected securities funds in America’s 401ks. Link
ChargeSmart

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Fox News’ Studio 10 reviewed ChargeSmart, PlasticJungle, and Bills.com and found a number of money saving tools and ideas. Link
Check Point Software Technologies
Check Point Software Technologies won The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2011 Award from The Association of Support Professionals for its exceptional web support design, implementation, and customer experience. Link
ClairMail
ClairMail announced record customer expansion with a 300% year-over-year growth in users. Link
Corduro

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The New York Times reported that Corduro’s cloud platform challenges PayPal and Square’s mobile payment services. Link
Credit Sesame
The Wisdom Journal depicted Credit Sesame’s services as more than just credit scores. Link
Currensee
See Betterment above.
doxo
  • doxo explained how to use its online filing cabinet and “due date” alerts to help organize GroupOn, Living Social, and other daily deals. Link
  • TheFinancialBrand.com discussed Oregon Federal Credit Union’s use of doxo and discussed other usage ideas such as uploading a scan of your passport prior to travelling. Link
Dwolla 
  • Credit Union Times listed Dwolla as a contender in the P2P payment space. Link
  • Dwolla rallied community efforts to gather donations for the tornado-stricken town of Joplin by selling its t-shirts and accepting donations. Link
  • Omaha World-Herald covered Dwolla’s arrival into Nebraska. Link
Enloop

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  • About.com highlighted Enloop’s business plan creation service. Link
  • Forbes blog discussed “How Not to Fail” by using Enloop to assess the potential success of a business plan. Link
Geezeo
Call Federal Credit Union, based in Richmond, VA, selected Geezeo for its PFM solution. Link
Guardian Analytics
Guardian Analytics positioned by Gartner in the “Visionary” quadrant for web fraud detection. Link
HelloWallet

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom urged residents to improve their money management by using HelloWallet. For every five subscriptions purchased, HelloWallet will give away one subscription to a family in need. Link
Hidden Levers
Financial Advisor Blog discussed using Hidden Levers to build better portfolios, highlighting risk management and accuracy of the service. Link
Lending Club
  • Lending Club exceeded a quarter million dollars in cumulative loans and is offering cash bonuses. Link
  • Wall Street Journal blog discussed growth of P2P Lending sites Prosper and Lending Club. Link
Lendio

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Lendio raised $2 million in debt financing. Link
PayNearMe
PayNearMe founder Danny Shader, in an interview with Vator News, revealed the service is used beyond the unbanked population, including teens who prefer to pay with cash and consumers who would like to keep their online transactions private. Link
Prosper
See Lending Club above.
RobotDough

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Dow Jones Financial reports that a UCLA professor backed RobotDough. Link
SecondMarket
The Washington Business Journal discussed SecondMarket’s recent popularity. Link
Sybase

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Sybase launched the M-Commerce Guide, a publication for examining global market opportunities for mobile network operators, advisors, and FIs. Link
TradeKing
TradeKing CIO Dan Raju discussed security issues that may arise with the NYSE cloud community, citing its security. Link
Tyfone
Tyfone contracted with Star One Credit Union to use its NFC technology.
 Link

UBank

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CEO of UBank examined security concerns and competitors during an interview with ZDNet. Link