As if the challenge of developing innovative technologies were not enough, fintech companies today are also busy building brand identities that will help them stand out from the pack.

Bank Innovation took a look at brand identity in banking and banking technology. The result was a list of the 10 Coolest Brands of 2015 – half of which are Finovate alums.

The list runs the gamut from innovative startups doing interesting things with alternative currencies, to banks willing to take more and smarter risks than their rivals when it comes to leveraging financial technology to better serve their customers and clients.

Writing about the selection process, Bank Innovation’s Philip Ryan acknowledged the “ethereal” nature of the project: “like all brands, our list is based on nothing less than our ‘impressions,’ ‘feelings,’ and ‘beliefs.” At the same time, Ryan noted: “Mainly, we have relied on fact – what has been done and accomplished – for in the end the most profound determinant of a brand’s worth is what it yields.”

Here are the five Finovate alums that made Bank Innovations’ Coolest Brands of 2015. The full list is available here.

• Fidor – “Fidor is an API-toting, hackathon-sponsoring, branchless-operating, digital-only banking startup.”
• Lending Club – “Among peer to peer lenders, Lending Club has no peer.”
• Ripple Labs  “The boldness of the business plan … also means that Ripple Labs’ likelihood of success is that much more of a reach. But that’s why it’s cool.”
• Venmo – “PayPal after all is the stalwart anti-establishment brand in financial services. No longer. Its Venmo unit has a far cooler brand today.”
• Xignite – “Building a data-driven financial services company? You will probably end up calling Xignite at some point.”

Also earning commendation were three other Finovate alums: Dwolla, Fastacash, and Fiserv.

2015 marked the fourth year in a row Bank Innovation has published its Coolest Brands in banking roundup (take a peek at their 2014 list here). Special congratulations to Venmo for making the list both this year and last.