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Next up, one of the newest companies at Finovate, WeSeed. The demo will be shown by Jennifer Openshaw, president/co-founder and Steve Simoncic, creative director.
WeSeed is an investment site targeted for beginning or novice investors. Its motto is “investing for the rest of us.” They are signing up beta testers now.
Finovate 2008 kicks off with a demo of Intuit’s Quicken Online. The presenter is Todd Stanley VP/general manager of Quicken Online and Barron Ernst, product manager.
Quicken Online, the online version of the popular desktop personal finance manager, was launched in January 2008. One notable difference between Intuit’s strategy and other online PFMs, is that Quicken Online costs $3/mo. The vast majority of competitors are ad supported and free of charge.
What’s new
Intuit is removing the fee from Quicken Online; it is now free of charge, which means, of the major online personal finance companies, only Mvelopes/Finicity charges a fee.
The new user interface will be available Oct. 30.
Introducing more mobile integration.
Much of this week’s NetBanker coverage will focus on our annual financial innovations showcase in New York City, Finovate 2008. On Tuesday, we’ll post updates on all 24 presenting companies (list here). Wednesday we’ll announce the official Best of Show winners, as voted on by the nearly 400 attendees (see note).
We’d like to thank the presenters shown above and our four sponsors, Qualcomm’s Firethorn, Microsoft’s MSN Money, RBC Venture Partners, and the law firm Chambliss, Bahner, & Stophel, who also sponsored Finovate Startup.
But most of all, we applaud our attendees for continuing their focus on new technology and creative thinking during trying economic times.
Note: There are still a handful of seats remaining, if you’d like to attend click here.
As noted here last week, Loanio launched its much anticipated peer-to-peer lending exchange Oct. 1.
And we are lucky that founder Michael Solomon has agreed to take the stage this Tuesday at Finovate to show everyone the results of his nearly two-year development effort.
The reason for the last-minute addition is that another P2P lender planning to launch at Finovate, Pertuity Direct, has delayed its grand opening to ensure that regulators are comfortable with its business. Given recent worldwide events, that’s understandable. We look forward to seeing its demo at Finovate 2009.
There are still a few seats remaining at the nearly sold-out event (registration is here). The complete lineup is listed here.
Putting on a conference is nerve wracking in the best of times, but in this environment, it’s doubly so. So we are especially pleased to announce that we are within a dozen or so seats of selling out the Crowne Plaza ballroom for Finovate 2008 next week. Register here if you’d like to join us.
As we argued last week (here), current industry problems make placing the correct technology bets even more important. Granted, there may be less revenue during the next few years, but the show will go on. Fundamentally, there is still as much demand for financial services today as a year ago.
To meet that demand, financial institutions will increasingly look towards lower-cost, non-branch alternatives. And 24 of the best will be demo’ing Oct. 14 at Finovate (see here for list):
With all the bad financial news circling the globe, you may not have been thinking about innovations in financial technology. While that’s understandable, this is not the time to ignore the fundamental changes occurring in the consumer marketplace (see below).
Yes, we are biased towards new technology, but with registrations to our upcoming Finovate Conference running 75% ahead of last year, there seems to be plenty of people who agree. By the way, this is the last day to save $100 on your ticket (register here) and ensure your ring-side seat on Oct. 14 to see these 24 inventive financial companies showcase their latest improvements.
But let’s address the elephant in the room. Is this the time to be concerned about new bank tech products, or is it time to just hold on and ride out the storm? While good arguments can be made on either side of that issue, here are two interesting examples that made bold bets on online technology in the middle of Internet gloom and doom:
ING Direct, launched during the depths of the dot-com bust (Sep 2000), is on track to become a top-10 U.S. bank by the end of the decade (note 1)
PayPal, also launched right before the low point (Nov. 1999), now has more customers that any other financial-services provider in the world other than the payments gateways themselves (Visa, MasterCard)
Who will be the ING Directs and PayPals coming out of the current crisis? Your guess is as good as mine, but my vote goes to the companies that do the best marrying online services with mobile delivery.
Why financial technology remains important
There’s no doubt that budgets will contract in 2009 and beyond. But new technology usually holds the promise of cutting costs or at least making it easier to serve more customers without adding resources. Here are the trends you cannot afford to ignore in your 2009/2010 plans:
1. Always-connected mobile consumer: Consumer services continue to move online as ubiquitous broadband and cellphone connectivity keeps most banking households connected 24/7 at home, work, and now with mobile, everywhere. Apple’s iPhone, and the next generation of competitive devices, are changing the game in mobile. There are already more than twice as many mobile phones in the world as there are credit cards (note 2). And location-based technology allows users to interact with merchants and payment providers in new and potentially more secure ways.
Implication: Mobile services today are about where the Internet was in 1996. And globally, mobile banking and payments will be even more important than online banking and payments.
2. Over-extended consumers seek guidance: Just as millions of amateur stock traders learned a harsh lesson about risk vs. return in 1999/2000, tens of millions of consumers will are learning the downside of extensive debt and leverage in 2008+.
Implication: This is a great time to get consumers hooked on tools that help them manage their spending, savings, and debt. And virtually all the activity will take place online with mobile support.
3. Branch exodus intensifies: The U.S. over-investment in branches will come to a screeching halt in 2009. With several of the big branch builders, especially WaMu, being acquired, there will be less of a competitive imperative, not to mention less capital, to build fancy new branches on every street corner. Some of the savings will be funneled into alternative delivery. Even the fanciest website can be built today with the fraction of the cost of a single urban branch.
Implication: Increasingly, financial institutions large and small will compete online.
4. Online research is the norm: According to a 2007 study published in November by the National Association of Realtors, 84% of households used the Internet in their search for a house. And in a dramatic change compared to ten years ago, online sources were nearly as important as humans in locating the house that was ultimately purchased (29% found it online first vs. 34% who said their agent told them about it). Similar numbers are reported for autos and other big tickets items.
Implication: A good web presence is crucial to landing new customers.
Note:
1. Industry consolidation is helping them move up the ranks, they jumped two spots in the past week alone.
2. Source, Communities Dominate Brands blog, 8 Jan 2007 (with updates)
With three weeks remaining before Finovate NYC, the final company in the demo lineup is stepping out of stealth mode and announcing its participation in our second annual new-products conference. See the full list here.
Thrive will be launching its entry in the online personal finance marketplace, JustThrive.com, at Finovate on Oct. 14. The company hopes to differentiate itself with more advanced financial planning tools while still remaining free. Founder and CEO is Avi Karnani; Marc Matsumoto is CMO.
Currently, the service is in closed beta testing, but Thrive recently updated its homepage with a timely message playing off last week’s financial debacle (screenshot below).
We had a chance to meet with the NYC-based founders earlier this year and were impressed how they’d studied the current players and were aiming to leapfrog the competition. However, there’s been significant innovation in the space this year, and they enter a crowded field (more on that tomorrow).
At this point, I can’t say anything more specific about Thrive’s plans, but after it becomes publicly available we’ll be back with a full analysis.
Finovate takes place four weeks from today (Oct. 14), and we’ve already surpassed last year’s attendee total. Luckily, we booked a bigger space, so there will be more bankers and tech execs to network with and everyone in the audience will have a seat at a table to park that laptop, Blackberry, iPhone, or whatever.
But the space isn’t unlimited and if we continue the sign-up pace of the past few weeks we’ll sell out well before Oct. 14. So, don’t wait too long, register here (see note 1).
When we announced the Finovate lineup, there were three companies that chose to remain secret. Two of those are now being named (note 2):
Note:
1. Clients with annual subscriptions to our All-Access Online Banking Report are eligible for a conference discount; email info@netbanker.com for your client discount code.
2. The 24th company is in stealth mode and will be revealed on or very near the conference on Oct. 14.
After looking at more than 100 companies, we’ve selected 24 finalists to present at our second annual Finovate Conference Oct. 14 in New York City (registration here). Three will emerge as Finovate Best of Show companies joining last year’s winners: Mint,Mortgage Marvel from Mortgagebot, and Prosper (note 1).
In a single action-packed day, we’ll see several financial startups launch, a few major product overhauls revealed, and a pile of new features shown to the public for the first time. It could be the single biggest “news day” in the history of online finance. Besides the amazing presenter lineup, the audience will contain many well-known industry analysts, members of the press, and banking and technology execs. Here are the subjects that will be covered:
Finovate 2008 Lineup (alphabetic order, note 2)
Below is a list of all 24 companies. In all, seven of the companies presented at our sold-out Finovate 2007; three are graduates from Finovate Startup last April; and 14 are new to Finovate. But all 24 will be demonstrating substantial new products and/or features.
Companies announced Sept. 16 and Sept. 23, 2008:
About Finovate 2008
Press: Members of the media should contact Jim Bruene, jim@netbanker.com to secure a press pass.
Note:
1. Winners are selected by audience vote.
2. The list does not include two stealth startups and one company to be named later.
The evaluation process for presenters at our second annual Finovate Conference is just about complete. Twenty-four leaders in banking and technology will gather in New York City on Oct. 14 to demo their latest new products and technologies.
Although we are not quite prepared to announce the final lineup, you can get a sense of the agenda from the innovators who presented at our past two Finovate conferences here and here.
If you are planning on attending the event this fall, you can save $200 by registering before the end of July at the discounted price of $895. Tickets are transferable, so even if you haven't decided who'll attend, you can still lock in savings now. The registration page is here.
Presenters at FinovateStartup (April 2008)
Full-length videos from the 40 presenters
(see note 1) at FinovateStartup are now available at our conference website (see VaultStreet example below). They are free of charge.
The no-Powerpoint, five-minute demos are hosted on our servers, so you should be able to access them from work. Both QuickTime and Windows Media formats are available. Choose QuickTime if you’d like to watch it in a bigger screen.
Finovate 2008 
Our second annual Finovate Conference will be held in just three months: Oct. 14 in New York City. We are finalizing the presenter lineup now, and it’s shaping up to be a winner with a great cross-section of newer companies mixed in with established names launching new products this fall. You can save $200 by registering before the end of July.
Note:
1. There are demos posted from 37 presenters. Two of the presenters, Guardian Analytics and Wonga, displayed confidential screenshots during their demo so they have elected not to show them online. And, unfortunately, Buxfer had a server problem during their demo, so we were not able to capture it on video.
Our second annual financial innovations conference, Finovate 2008: Experience the Future of Finance, will take place Oct. 14 in mid-town Manhattan. Like the sold-out event last year, 20 innovative financial tech companies will demonstrate their latest products and technologies. Each company exec has seven minutes in front of the audience, and is then available at a dedicated demo station for 90+ minutes of one-on-one discussions.
While we won’t be releasing presenter names for some time, you can get a taste of the content by reviewing our blog coverage (here) and videos from Finovate 2007 (here). Last year, the audience selected Mint, Mortgage Marvel from Mortgagebot, and Prosper as Best of Show. For the entire list of 2007 presenters, see our blog post here.
Nomination process for presenters
Presenter slots are by invitation only. But since we don’t (yet) know every cool financial services company on the planet, we’re also taking nominations (yes, you can nominate yourself). The two main selection criteria are simple. The product/service/technology must be:
If you are interested, tell us how you will impress an audience of banking execs, reporters from the major dailies, top industry analysts and bloggers, VCs and a variety of “new product folks” from major tech companies. Please contact my colleague and conference director Eric Mattson <mattson@netbanker.com> for more information on becoming a presenter.
Attendees, save $350 by registering before May 31
The super-early-bird price ends in three days. So take a moment to lock in your $350 savings on Finovate admission (price = $745). We have a liberal cancellation policy (note 1) if your plans change, so register here before prices go up.
Press, analysts, and bloggers
Subject to space limitations in NYC, we are again inviting press and industry analysts and bloggers to attend at no cost. So get your press requests in early. Contact OBR/Netbanker editor Jim Bruene <jim@netbanker.com> to request a press pass. For bloggers, please detail your reach in the financial and/or tech industries.
Note:
1. Cancellation policy: At any time prior to the day of the show, you may transfer your ticket to someone else or roll it over to a 2009 Finovate event. Alternatively, you may elect to receive a refund of the full amount through the end of July; 75% through Aug. 31; 50% through Sept. 30; and 25% up until two days before the event, in this case, by midnight PST Oct. 11.