Betterment Acquires ImpulseSave to Help Users Manage Their Goals Along with Their Investments

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Online investment management service Betterment helps consumers answer the question, “what should I do with my money?” Its online platform helps consumers manage ImpulseSaveLogo.jpgtheir investments with easy-to-use tools.

Today, in a move to bolster its offering, Betterment has acquired ImpulseSave, a consumer-facing tool that helps consumers visualize and save for their goals in increments. Check out our product review of ImpulseSave here.

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Existing ImpulseSave users will have access to their fully-functioning account until November first. After this point, savings funds can only be accessed through users’ online banking platform.

In order to encourage ImpulseSave users to make the transition, Betterment has offered the platform for free for three months.

Betterment last demoed at FinovateFall 2011 and ImpulseSave demoed at FinovateFall 2012.

ImpulseSave: Channeling Impulsive Habits to Help Achieve Financial Goals

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There are plenty of online platforms, mobile apps, and advisors that seek to help users save money. Massachusetts-based ImpulseSave fits into the same category, but uses a creative, reverse approach.
I chatted with ImpulseSave Co-founder and CEO, Phil Fremont-Smith, to get the inside scoop, then tried it out for myself to get a better look at the platform.
Overview

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ImpulseSave gives users a savings account, backed by Massachusetts-based Leader Bank, into which they can make weekly contributions and small, “micro-saves” towards a specific financial goal. These impulsive micro-saves can be deposited using the online platform, the ImpulseSave smartphone app (see right) or by SMS text.
So rather than purchasing a candy bar at the grocery store or buying a cup of coffee from Starbucks instead of making it at home, users can redirect that money into their savings account, giving them a point of saving at every point of sale. This moves money out of harm’s way, where it can build towards a goal.
Metrics
  • Savings average over $3k per user per year
  • Individual users save, on average, more than 2 times per week
  • Since ImpulseSave’s launch, users’ average weekly savings has risen from $15 to $28
  • About 1/3 of users have referred ImpulseSave to a friend, averaging 3 friends each.
  • Over the last 2 months, ImpulseSave’s Net Promoter Score rose from 39% to 60%
What I liked:

1) Easy account creation
I needed only a driver’s license and credit card to open an account. My computer’s webcam, combined with optical character recognition (OCR) technology, made this very simple and fast.
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2) Autosave feature
ImpulseSave gave me the option to make automatic, weekly transfers from my checking account into the goal account I opened to save for a new kayak helmet. 
The slider tool made it easy for me to adjust the amount of my weekly deductions from my checking account into my ImpulseSave goal account. As I increased the amount of my weekly transfers, the number of months until I achieve my goal decreased. 
With weekly deductions of $15, it will take 2 months to achieve my goal of $153. However, the more impulse saves I make, the closer I get to achieving this goal. 
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Every Monday, ImpulseSave emails me a reminder that my weekly autosaves will be deducted from my checking account Monday afternoon. In case I want to skip this week’s autosave, the bottom of the email contains a small link that gives me the option to skip the autosave for that week. 
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3) The user dashboard 
This is my favorite piece. Seeing a picture of my goal, progress, and a detailed view of each of my impulse saves, makes saving money tangible. 
Each week, the progress graph fills in with auto saves and impulse saves. This kept me coming back to monitor my progress and watch the date I was projected to achieve my goal change.
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ImpulseSave gives me the option to edit, delete, or pause the goal. I can also transfer money from one goal to another. Once I reach my goal, it’s easy (and free) to withdraw money from the goal’s account back into my checking account so I can make the purchase.

What’s next
  • Account aggregation: this will change the user experience into an even more active one. The ImpulseSave platform will serve as a base where users can not only track their goals, but also monitor their other accounts, bill payments, etc. 
  • Danger Zone feature: this will allow users to gamify savings with friends and family. Danger Zone will invite users to identify locations in which they are most tempted to make bad purchasing decisions (For some, this is the Apple store. Tor me, it’s REI). After users identify their danger zones, friends and family members can leave a “trap” for them in that location in the form of a push notification. For example, the message may read, “Put the credit card down and step away.”
To learn more about ImpulseSave, see its live demo video at FinovateFall 2012.

Finovate Alumni News– January 18, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAmerican Banker reports: ImpulseSave Launches Chrome Plugin to Encourage Savings.
  • SaveUp allows users to vote for potential prizes.
  • SmartyPig introduces the SmartyPig OneClick Chrome extension.
  • Get Rich Slowly blog features Tuition.io.
  • Forbes covers Virtual Piggy, calling it PayPal for Kids. Come see Virtual Piggy demo at FinovateEurope.
  • Springwise features Movenbank. Come to FinovateEurope and see Movenbank’s live demo of its new platform.
  • American Banker reports: STAR Financial Bank Rolls Out PFM Software from MoneyDesktop.
  • Virgin Mobile, C Spire test BillFloat as financing option.
  • Mastercard moves to ease EMV migration within U.S.
  • Azimo announces £300,000 ($480,000 USD) angel investment round. Come see their demo at FinovateEurope in February!
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– January 17, 2013

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBillFloat announces $21 million in new funding.
  • Jack Henry & Associates launches retail and commercial lending platform.
  • Compass Plus completes benchmark testing on HP servers.
  • ImpulseSave releases Google Chrome e-commerce plug-in.
  • Dashlane partners with Pwnedlist to enhance security alerts. Check out Dashlane’s live demo at FinovateEurope next month.
  • Mitek to launch Mobile Deposit Alliance, allowing participant banks to share deposit data.
  • TechCrunch reports: eBay And PayPal Expect To Do $20 Billion Each In 2013 Mobile Commerce.
  • El Paso Electric Company partners with TIO Networks Corp to launch EPE MobilePay.
  • Dwolla introduces Guest Send to help developers building bank software make payments from one account to another.
  • Bill.com wins Best Software as a Service category of the 2012-2013 Cloud Awards Program.
  • Clearstream chooses Standard Chartered Bank as its clearing and settlement agent for its investments in South Africa.
  • Payments.com profiles MasterCard Worldwide’s initiatives in Africa.
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– January 11, 2013

  • iOSnoops reviews TradeHero Mobile.
  • Netbanker considers how Prosper, Zopa, and Lending Club have disrupted lending.
  • American Banker reports on NICE Systems’ launch of voice authentication technology. Watch its live demo at FinovateEurope Feb. 12 and 13.
  • P2P Lending News: Zopa CEO talks to BBC Radio.
  • BostInno talks with ImpulseSave CEO on how it can help with all kinds of New Year’s resolutions.
  • Equifax partners with DocuSign for easy e-sign and submission of Transcript of Tax Return form.
  • Fiserv enhances TradeFlow, its post-trade processing solution. Come to FinovateEurope in London to see the live demo of its new technology.
  • ZDNet looks at how miiCard is solving identity verification headaches.
  • Digital Journal reports on EZBOB’s battle with Amazon in the small business financing space.  See them at FinovateEurope in February.
  • Leadfusion collaborates with McCulluy Design Lab to get a new look.
  • Happy birthday, TSYS!  Company celebrates 30th anniversary on Friday.
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– October 17, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgBazaarvoice unveils newest edition of its Bazaarvoice Connections offering.
  • Yodlee Interactive doubles annual growth in its API business.
  • Filene conducts independent review of SaveUp program.
  • GigaOM reports PayPal offers small businesses simple Bill Me Later financing option.
  • Taulia teams with SAP HANA & Amazon Web Services.
  • Equifax introduces EFX Link, advanced customer data integration solution that gives a 360-degree view of customers.
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.

FinovateFall 2012 in the Press

Here’s a look at the press coverage from FinovateFall 2012 held September 12 and 13 in New York:
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ABA Banking Journal
Bank Technologists Meet American Idol
by John Ginovsky

AdvisorOne
Stock Picking Goes Social as Stockr, aSpark Debut
by Joyce Hanson
American Banker
Apple Effect Evident at Innovator Gathering
by Mary Wisniewski
Dynamics Adds Another Option for Its High-Tech Cards
by Daniel Wolfe
Payfone Aims to Make Mobile Payments Pain-Free
by John Adams
PreCash to Debut Mobile Wallet for the Underbanked
by Daniel Wolfe
Reporter’s Notebook: Day 1 FinovateFall Favorites
by Mary Wisniewski

The Top 10 Tweets of Finovate

Andera blog
Finovate Takeaway: User Experience in Retail Transactions
by Andrea Hunter

Bank Innovation
Finovate Fall 2012: Demo Performance Scores and Reviews
by JJ Hornblass

Wade Arnold, CEO of Banno, Presents Grip
by Phillip Ryan

Bank Systems & Technology
5 Hot Bank Technologies From FinovateFall 2012
by Bryan Yurcan
Banno Releases Updated Grip Product
by Bryan Yurcan
MasterCard Forms New Rewards Program Partnership with Linkables Networks
by Jonathan Camhi
Mobile Commerce Company Payfone Debuts Checkout Solution
by Bryan Yurcan

Business Insider
Financial Planning Startup LearnVest Already Has Millionaire Clients
by Alyson Shontell

The Business Review 
To save or buy is ImpulseSave’s question

Celent
FinovateFall 2012 Recap
by Jacob Jegher

Consumer Reports 
Finovate Fall 2012: A solution to the mortgage crisis?
by Tobie Stanger
Finovate Fall 2012: Help with students’ loans and seniors’ bills
by Tobie Stanger

Finovate Fall 2012: Making, managing and keeping money
by Tobie Stanger

Finovate Fall 2012: Now maybe you’ll switch banks
by Tobie Stanger

Contactless News
Dynamics unveils Triple Interface, battery-powered payment card

Credit Sesame Blog
Check Out the Newest Way to Measure Your Credit and Loan Health!
by Erin Renzas

CreditUnions.com
Finovate Dispenses Inspiring Ideas (Part 1)
by Aaron Pugh

Finovate Dispenses Inspiring Ideas (Part 2)
by Aaron Pugh
The Currency Cloud blog
Finovate NY – Video & Photo Diary
by Nasir Zubairi 

CU Soapbox
GUEST POST: Innovation Unveiled In The Big Apple
Alix Patterson

Daily Finance
A Digital Wallet for the Unbanked: Mobile Finance Goes Downmarket
by Ross Kenneth Urken

The Digital Mailer Blog
FinovateFall 2012: A Recap

Discerning Technologist
Best of Show Locked Up? @MoneyDesktop Demo At #Finovate
by Bradley Leimer
Dough Roller blog
The Best Way to Track Your Investments Online (and it’s Free!)
by Rob Berger

Dwolla Blog

Dwolla at FinovateFall
by Caitlin
Financial Planning 
LearnVest Becomes an RIA, Plans to Hire Advisors
by Elizabeth Wine
Finextra
EToro launches social trading index
PreCash introduces mobile wallet for underbanked
Fintech Marketing blog
William Mills III, CEO William Mills Agency Live Blog from Finovate Fall NYC 2012-DAY ONE
by William Mills III
William Mills III, CEO William Mills Agency Live Blog from Finovate Fall NYC 2012-DAY TWO
by William Mills III
FintechToday
TOP TEN AT FINOVATE 2012
by Walt Cox
Forbes blog
4 Great New Tools to Manage Your Money
by Richard Eisenberg
Gonzobanker Can Make FinTech Amusing
by Tom Groenfeldt
LearnVest Reinvests In Its Mission: Financial Planning For The 99%
by Meghan Casserly
If You Want to Really Raise Capital, Try This Company and Not KickStarter
by Mark Fidelman
The Problem with Finovate
by Helaine Olen
GigaOM
Forget Mint, LearnVest’s new platform takes aim at financial planning industry
by Ki Mae Heussner
Locaid bolsters location service with IP address data
by Ryan Kim
Gonzo Banker
Vendor Dirt: 2012 Finovate Fall
by Scott Hodgins
Huffington Post Money Blog
Online Financial Planning: The Chilling Thing I Found Out About My 70th Birthday
by Catherine New
JP Nicols Blog
Finovate Fall 2012 Best of Show Winners
by JP Nicols
Keeping Nickels
My Tweets from #Finovate
by Nichelle Stephens
Moment NYC blog
Finovate Fall 2012: Less tech, more desire.
by Alexa Curtis
MyBankTracker
Dashlane: Finally Something that Might Actually Make Online Shopping Easier
Dynamics Introduces Card Capable of Swipe, EMV, Contactless Payments
Finovate Wrap-Up: What Can FinTech Do for You? Really?
by Willy Staley
Ideon Choice Unveils Platform for Customer-Created Savings Products
ImpulseSave: Another App to Help You Save
LearnVest Gets SEC Certified, Announces Mobile App, Upgrades
by Willy Staley
Linkable Networks, MasterCard Expand Card-Linked Offers
by Simon Zhen
Locaid: Enter the Digital Panopticon!
MoneyDesktop Connects PFMs Across Multiple Devices
mShift’s AnyWhereMobile Wallet Actually Adds Value
by Willy Staley
New Technologies Are Coming for Unbanked, Underbanked
by Simon Zhen
PayTap Debuts Shared Bill Payment Portal
PreCash Announces FlipMoney at Finovate: Mobile Money for the Underbanked
by Willy Staley
SwitchAgent: Bank-Switching Made Easy
by Simon Zhen
Tuition.io — It’s a Pun, Get It?
The New York Times Blog
LearnVest Dips Its Toes Into Investment Advice
by Ann Carrns
Next Avenue
4 Great New Tools to Manage Your Money
by Richard Eisenberg
NYConvergence
FINOVATE: Mobile and Social FinTech Innovations Dominate
by Lauren Keyson

PandoDaily
The Consumerization of Life’s Ickiest Chores Continues: LearnVest Injects Its Financial Planning Tools With Steroids
by Erin Griffith
PaymentEye
Payfone launches a mobile commerce checkout solution
PaymentsJournal 
MasterCard Keeps Investing in Rewards, This Time With Linkable Networks
PaymentsNews 
FinovateFall 2012 – Best of Show Winners
Payfone To Launch Mobile Commerce Checkout Solution
PayTap Launches Social Bill Pay Service
PreCash Introduces FlipMoney Mobile Wallet for Underbanked Consumers
The Paypers
Banno adds new features to Grip financial aggregation app
Payfone makes 1 Touch Checkout available, partners CardinalCommerce
PC World
New web apps tackle business finance problems
by Yardena Arar
PYMNTS
Banno Unveils New Features for Grip, Strengthens the Mobile Banking Standard with Pre-Transaction Insights
Silicon Prairie News
Banno unveils upgraded interface, new analysis tools for Grip
by Michael Stacy
Snarketing 2.0
SedUIced
by Ron Shevlin

Advice For Finovate Presenters
by Ron Shevlin
TechCrunch
Credit Sesame Adds Social Comparison Tools, Lets You See How Your Debt Compares With People Like You
by Sarah Perez
Dashlane’s Password Management Service Now Alerts Users When Their Accounts May Be Hacked
by Sarah Perez
It’s Not Just For Women Anymore: LearnVest Brings Financial – And Now Investment – Planning To Everyone
by Sarah Perez
Money Management Service Personal Capital Wants To Manage Your 401K
by Leena Rao
Telecompaper
Payfone launches m-commerce checkout service
Tier One blog
Finovate: Day One in Review
by Kathy Wilson
FinovateFall Part Two! All about Savings, Security and Slick New PFM Tools
by Sue Parente
The Next Web
eToro launches Social Trading Index for learning from other traders and sharing top techniques
by Jamillah Knowles
LearnVest launches redesigned tools, new financial plans and teases its upcoming iPhone app
by Harrison Weber
Thomson Reuters 
EPAM Systems and Thomson Reuters announced a partnership to develop and host an App Store solution
Upstart Business Journal
Financial planning, iPad app among best at Finovate
by Kent Bernhard, Jr
Get a 401(k), win an iPhone5
by Kent Bernhard, Jr 
LearnVest targets masses for professional financial advice
by Teresa Novellino 
No need to wait for crowdfunding
by Kent Bernhard, Jr
Personal Capital aims to disrupt 401(k)
by Kent Bernhard, Jr
Sci-fi meets finance at Finovate
by Kent Bernhard, Jr
VentureBeat
Financial planning for all: LearnVest gets its biggest update yet
by Devindra Hardawar

Locaid launches Internet and mobile location-tracking service
by Dean Takahashi
Be sure to check back because we’ll add more coverage as it is published throughout the week.

ImpulseSave Gives Users a Point of Saving

Thumbnail image for ImpulseSaveLogo.jpgThird to take the stage, ImpulseSave launched its platform that gives users a point of saving:

“ImpulseSave’s new savings tools make saving just as easy, as front-of-mind and as fun as spending. Our users are saving between two and three times the national average and are engaging on a daily and weekly basis. 

Through our simple web and mobile apps we offer an alternative gratification experience to consumption that redirects that money toward saving. In addition to, instead of, or whenever the impulse strikes them, Consumers now have a “Point of Saving” at every point of sale, and at every point in between.”

Product Launched: September 2012
HQ Location: Cambridge, MA
Company Founded: February 2011
Metrics: 4 full-time employees
Twitter: @impulsesave
Finovate demo videofinovate.com/fall12vid/ (demo video will be posted next week)
Introducing Phil Fremont-Smith (Co-Founder & CEO) and Anne Steinhaus (VP Product)
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FinovateFall 2012 Sneak Peek: Part 1

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We’ve selected over 60 leading innovators to take the stage for the sixth annual FinovateFall conference in New York on September 12 and 13.

Each company provided a sneak peek of what they’ll demo next month. Below is the first installment of these teasers. We’ll have more next week.

Don’t miss your chance to see the live demo from each company and meet the execs responsible. Get your FinovateFall ticket here.

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Socialite from Actiance allows financial advisors, agents and sales and marketing to engage with clients, build customer relationships, and create a personal brand – all while being compliant with FINRA and SEC regulations. 
At Finovate you will see for the first time the integration of Actiance’s Socialite platform with Salesforce enabling users to maximize the power of Salesforce, monetize their social involvement and increase revenue. Now users can Link Socialite contacts to Salesforce accounts and send Socialite activity to Salesforce when contacts provide feedback or respond to posted content. In addition, we will be showcasing our new Socialite Mobile application for the iPhone.
Innovation type: Marketing, sales, security

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Come meet Billhighway at the intersection of technology and philanthropy! It’s your chance to witness the debut of a faster, more compelling way to fundraise. Billhighway’s mobile application, unveiled for the first time at FinovateFall 2012, brings a mobile cashless approach for an easy, secure, fun way for folks to give in real time, and perhaps give more! 
The application is specifically developed for nonprofits to effectively increase funding from new sources. A great example of technology used for good, nonprofit organizations immediately collect and put to use mission-critical donor funds, the lifeblood of their efforts to do more good.
Innovation type: Marketing, mobile, payments

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BCSG will be launching an innovative and customizable cloud-based package at FinovateFall 2012, incorporating the most important tools a small business owner needs to manage and grow their business. For just $25 a month, users will get access to several market leading applications via one online platform using a single username and password. This unique package has been developed specifically to address the day to day challenges small businesses owners face and is supplied through financial institutions.

Innovation type: Online UI, PFM, small business

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CommunityLend’s product, Financeit, enables businesses to offer installment loans to their customers at the point of sale. Since launching in January of 2011, they have signed up over 1,200 merchant partners and processed over $130MM in loans. The key verticals are vehicle, home improvement, retail and health.
CommunityLend has raised over $9MM in financing since launch and is now pursuing a U.S. expansion strategy. Lending capital comes from banks and other institutional investors.
Innovation type: Lending, payments

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Can “The Cloud” be trusted to store important files? Are safe deposit boxes still practical in the age of electronic documents? Is there a way to ensure “Total Information Privacy” for the customer? My Virtual StrongBox is the online answer to safe deposit boxes. Customers store electronic copies of important documents in this easy-to-use filing system AND retain ownership of their documents. Files are managed by, and only visible to, the customer. Financial institutions using My Virtual StrongBox add one more sticky product to their list of benefits and keep customers around for years to come. Learn more at myvirtualstrongbox.com.
Innovation type: Banking products, PFM, small business

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Optimize your online marketing and improve your acquisitions strategies with Experian’s Premium Prequalification, a powerful credit-screening tool that allows institutions to proactively utilize individual credit data online in real time to:

    • Empower and educate consumers with a snapshot of their credit health
    • Save consumers time and money by instantly providing them with their most viable options at the very start of their shopping experience 
This best-in-class process also offers Prequalification Triggers, notifying consumers of recent chan
ges to their credit while offering relevant products, and Credit Comparables, which compares individual credit to the average in their area. Redefine your acquisitions strategies today with Experian’s Premium Prequalification
Innovation type: Cards, lending, sales

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Fiserv understands that convenience and supporting user preference are keys to increased adoption and usage of digital payments. Our innovation seamlessly blends a variety of information input modes in our mobile banking application, Mobiliti Enterprise
Using our applications, users can choose from traditional keypad and screen touch interaction, image capture and OCR, or voice-driven commands and inputs to make payments. And a key feature is that users can effortlessly switch modes at any time, whenever they want – even in the middle of a transaction.
Innovation type: Banking products, mobile, payments

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In a world optimized to get us to spend more at every turn, ImpulseSave has made saving your money just as easy and instantly gratifying as spending it. Our simple web and mobile tools incent consumers to turn every point of sale into a “Point of Saving”, as well as every point in between. 
ImpulseSavers are saving close to $4,000 per year on average. While others argue that greater discipline and better budgets are the answer, ImpulseSave represents the exact opposite approach. Instead of trying to change consumer behavior, encouraging more self-denial, we’ve actually transformed saving itself to leverage that very behavior, making saving as impulsive, fun, even addictive as is spending.
Innovation type: Communications, marketing, PFM

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Ready, Set, Locate! See how one easy-to-use API can locate any customer or cardholder mobile phone for authentication or mobile marketing. No apps to download, it works on feature phones, smart phones or on any carrier. Mobile phone network location can be a low cost, high quality, unspoofable authentication factor for mobile payment and credit card identity. 
See Locaid’s live location demo that can be easily integrated into any CRM system, mobile marketing, web services or anti-fraud applications. With a mobile device number and permission, you can locate 350 million devices via our location privacy platform.
Innovation type: Identity, marketing, mobile

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See how financial institutions can save millions by implementing BankFiling, a first-of-its kind innovation that delivers significant ROI yet requires limited investment. A whole new approach to commercial and business banking! Prepare yourself!
Innovation type: Banking products, lending, small business

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The fear of not getting paid and concern over finding new clients is keeping small business owners up at night. PaySimple is launching a “get paid faster while you grow your business” addition to its PaySimple Pro receivables automation solution. The innovation automates pricing to ensure the small business is paid on time and also fosters social engagement as a natural extension of the payments process.
Innovation type: Online UI, payments, small business

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Times are tough. The kids are in college. You’re caring for aging parents. You’re underemployed. You have bills. Bills that are due. But your family and friends want to help. Because that’s what family and friends do. If only there was a way for them to provide this financial help quickly. Conveniently. Securely. Online. Without the hassle of sending cash and checks, or the high cost of wire transfer services. Meet PayTap.
Innovation type: Communications, payments, PFM

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Personal Capital is wealth management for the Internet Age. The company’s online platform combines digital technology with highly personalized service to provide a holistic view of your unique financial picture. The free online dashboard, iPad and iPhone apps present all of your financial data in one place, showing you exactly what you own and what you owe, in real time. 
At Finovate Fall, Personal Capital will unveil new features that enable even greater transparency into your money for the long-term: your retirement. Do you know how much your 401(k) costs?
Innovation type: Investing, online UI, PFM

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Pindrop Security’s technology is being used by banks to identify fraud callers and to prevent fraud transactions. In the Fall of 2012, we’ll introduce our latest solution for financial institutions that rely on the phone for transactions. Join us for the debut at FinovateFall 2012!
Innovation type: Identity, security

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Prepaid Resources introduces BenefitsDirect ‘Direct Deposit Management’.
Capture recurring Federal benefits, State benefits and Payroll deposits through your accountholder website, in-branch, at retail, by mobile app or via live agent. Track enrollment success and measure direct deposit activity to proactively personalize accountholder relationships.
Innovation type: Banking products, cards

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ShopKeep solves the last mile in local. It enables vertical partners from delivery, payments, loyalty, and deals to connect directly to SMBs. A revolutionary iPad based SaaS product, ShopKeep’s POS system makes traditional cash register products obsolete. 
For $2/day merchants receive a high end operating system and can manage their store even when they are not inside it. Made in NYC, ShopKeep now has over 2,500 customers. It provides merchants flexibility to choose their credit card processor and offers unheard of customer support and economics. ShopKeep POS is the simplest way for retailers to make smarter business decisions.
Innovation type: Payments, sales, small business

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Stockr

Stockr is a finance portal for the social web. For most people, investing is more social than scientific, and investment ideas come from close friends, trusted advisors and various periodicals. 
Stockr embraces this social element of investing, creating powerful connections among those who have actionable information and those who are seeking it. While other portals compete on content, our view is that content becomes most relevant and actionable when it’s shared and discussed.
Innovation type: Investing & asset management, PFM

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Everyone has come to expect innovative, reliable and low cost local currency payment services, yet we continue to live with expensive and unreliable international payments. Over $37 trillion in foreign currency payments are sent or received each year. The international payment services offered by the major banks are far from satisfactory. The Currency Cloud evolves the international payments process – we make currencies simple.
Innovation type: Back office, payments, small business

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With Tuition.io, student loan borrowers can easily access all their loans in one visually appealing dashboard, use graphical visualization tools to compare them and get customized optimization plans that take advantage of little-known and hard-to-understand restructuring options.
Innovation type: Banking products, lending, PFM

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The mobile phone is fast becoming a dominant player in payments and banking worldwide. As electronic fraud will certainly be drawn to the new medium, so too must security be made usable, flexible and ultimately reliable. ValidSoft’s proprietary technology can secure all transaction channels, in real-time. All our solutions are telecommunications-based. 
At FinovateFall 2012 we will show you how our advanced mobile payments authentication platform, SMART, supports a mobile wallet product and demonstrate how scalable and flexible it can be.
Innovation type: Identity, payments, security
Stay tuned next week for another sneak peek of FinovateFall 2012 presenting companies.

Finovate Alumni News– July 23, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgVirtual Piggy expands merchant base with Blee Inara’s handcrafted original jewelry.
  • Umbel forms NetAlliance partnership with Akamai. Come to FinovateFall to see Akamai’s live demo.
  • Fast Company talks with Alexa Von Tobel, LearnVest CEO. Check out LearnVest’s live demo at FinovateFall.
  • USA Today features Social Money’s SmartyPig.
  • Startup America features Bolstr. Come see Bolstr’s live demo at FinovateFall.
  • The Independent looks at how CurrencyFair helps cut cost of cash transfers abroad.
  • The Financial Brand looks at how ImpulseSave hopes to create spontaneous savers.
  • GigaOM reports Corduro aims to win over big organizations that want to modernize their payment systems.
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– July 13, 2012

  • Huffington Post features ImpulseSave. Come see their live demo at FinovateFall September 12 and 13.
  • SmartStops BrokerLink Service available to TradeKing Clients.
  • The Currency Cloud closes $3.1 million in funding. Come see its live demo at FinovateFall in New York.
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.