Finovate Alumni News– April 17, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgQ2ebanking partners with cybercrime prevention company, Trusteer.
  • Kasasa’s Tunes program pulls in Gen-Y checking customers.
  • DR Power Equipment, partners with Bazaarvoice to manage consumer ratings and reviews. Come see Bazaarvoice at FinovateSpring.
  • Check Point Software announces Check Point ThreatCloud, a collaborative network to fight cybercrime.
  • Plastyc announces you can now add minutes to friends’ & family members’ phones abroad in 85 countries.
  • Holtmeyer & Monson partners with ProfitStars.
  • Bank Technology News reports Fiserv names Ally financial executive as CIO.
  • ABC 7 San Fran covers BillGuard. Come see its live demo at Finovate Spring in San Fran May 8 & 9.
  • GigaOM looks at how Braintree powers payments for hot startups.
  • OpenCuro’s payment module now available for Zen Cart.
  • Balance Financial launches Portfolio Reporting, adds 2 board members.
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– March 29, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgCartera Commerce launches OfferLink rewards solution for local businesses.
  • MyBankTracker features PayNearMe and shares how to pay your utility bill at 7-Eleven.
  • American Banker shares how Plastyc is 1 of 3 prepaid card providers to adopt or test a disclosure box to inform consumers of fees.
  • ReadyForZero launches its Facebook timeline.
  • LearnVest launches a tool to help decide if you should outsource a task or do it yourself.
  • Forbes describes how Lending Club and Prosper have opened up the consumer debt market.
  • VentureBeat shares how Outright can assist during tax season.
  • Striata partners with IHS Telekom to bring eBilling to Turkey.
  • David Marcus named President of PayPal.
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.

Plastyc Launches More Robust Mobile App to Empower Users Who Own a Smartphone

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With the rise in smartphone ownership and low PC-usage rates of the underbanked, Plastyc built up a robust mobile app to help users manage their iBankUP and UPside accounts.

The iPhone and Android apps were rolled out March 13 to the 75% of Plastyc’s users who own smartphones.

Some of the new capabilities include:

    • Manage Rainy Day Reserve
    • Receive deal notifications
    • Mail paper checks to people in your phone’s address list
    • Deposit physical checks by taking a picture with your smartphone (coming end of 2012)

Here are some screenshots of the Android app, taken from Plastyc’s website on March 19, 2012:

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To learn more about Plastyc, watch its FinovateFall2011 demo.

Finovate Alumni News– March 19, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgThe Independent recommends using Zopa to boost your pension.
  • Creditnet examines how BillGuard can fight unwanted credit card charges.
  • TechCocktail interviews Ben Milne, Dwolla CEO, at SXSW 2012.
  • All Things D looks at SecondMarket CEO’s answer to why it wasn’t part of the SEC’s secondary market ruling.
  • Forbes looks at MasterCard’s partnership with BOKU.
  • Channel Partners turns to Expensify to lower expense-reporting costs.
  • SecureKey Technologies and INSIDE Secure bring POS convenience to online merchants.
  • Plastyc launches more robust mobile app to empower users who own a smartphone.
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– March 15, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgAmerican Banker reports LifeLock buys ID Analytics to boost its appeal to banks.
  • Practical Ecommerce profiles Kabbage, highlights future endeavors.
  • CNN Money discusses how SecondMarket escaped clashes with the new SEC ruling.
  • Convenient Cards, Rapid Financial, & Plastyc partner with Arroweye Solutions to get prepaid cards to market faster.
  • Silver Tail Systems introduces profile analyzer to protect websites from cyber attacks & fraud.
  • Check Point wins 2012 SC Magazine Readers Choice Award for best intrusion prevention solution.
  • Syphr and CarLoans.com launch ad platform pilot for CUs.
  • American Banker reports Bancorp Bank announces NetSpend, InComm prepaid card deals.
  • PayPal introduces PayPal Here to compete with Square.
  • Finextra discusses ebilling adoption rates, reviews Striata’s strategy.
  • H&R Block Canada and Yodlee partner to deliver tax applications to financial institutions.
  • Clairmail and VocaLink partner to combine real-time payments with mobile solutions.
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.

Plastyc Partners with IDology to Make Authentication More Consumer Friendly

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Underbanked money-management company

Plastyc announced today a partnership with IDology, an identity verification company:

“IDology’s ExpectID solutions are being used to verify consumers enrolling for Plastyc’s services at upsidecard.com and ibankup.com. In addition, if a discrepancy exists in the initial CIP verification, IDology automatically escalates transactions to a higher level of verification.”

IDology will help Plastyc provide a consumer-friendly approach to authentication.

To learn more about Plastyc, watch its FinovateFall 2011 demo.

Finovate Alumni News– March 12, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgGov Info Security interviews Authentify CEO Peter Tapling about authentication.
  • Ping Identity partners with Winvale, a gov’t tech solutions provider.
  • Fox Business News looks at how to get more money from Kabbage.
  • Bill.com unveils revamped user support.
  • TechCrunch reports PayPal to unveil small business payments platform.
  • Kabbage & Outright announce partnership.
  • cbanc Network launches Backstage Pass to open its platform to vendors.
  • How Kasasa helps community banks give megabanks a run for their money.
  • Plastyc partners with IDology to make authentication more consumer friendly.
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– February 1, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgPlastyc’s UPside Visa named winner in sixth annual Paybefore Awards.
  • TechCrunch reports IBM buys WorkLight for $70 million.
  • StockTwits partners with Q4 Web Systems.
  • Actiance announces Socialite Engage to help advisors strengthen client relationships and drive new business. See its live demo at FinovateEurope next week.
  • Luup wins the Financial-i Leaders in Innovation Award for Most Innovative New Mobile Corporate Banking. See its live demo at FinovateEurope next week.
  • eToro releases Chinese version of OpenBook.
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.

Plastyc’s UPside Cardholders Can Now Load Cash Onto Cards At 7-Eleven Stores

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Plastyc, creator of the UPside Visa prepaid card, announced yesterday that it is using GreenDot’s Swipe&Load technology to enable UPside cardholders to load cash onto their cards at 7-Eleven stores:

“Swipe&Load technology makes it faster and easier for people to add cash to their reloadable cards. Now cardholders can visit any 7-Eleven store in the U.S and hand their UPside Visa card and cash to the cashier. The cashier swipes the card and the money is added to the card on the spot.”

The Swipe&Load service costs users under $5 and will be available at over 6,500 7-Eleven store across the U.S.

To learn more about Plastyc, watch its FinovateFall 2011 demo.

Finovate Alumni News– January 18, 2012

  • Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgReady Receipts officially launches paperless receipt technology.
  • nFinanSe seeks to halt new debit card network by InComm, alleges price-fixing conspiracy.
  • VentureBeat discusses the IPO market with SecondMarket CEO Barry Silbert.
  • On Deck partners with the National Association for Small Business.
  • SignatureLink to integrate ThreatMetrix’s Cybercrime Defender Platform with its technology
  • Intuit hires former Apple executive to lead Canada division.
  • Fox Business News interviews LearnVest founder and CEO, Alexa von Tobel.
  • The Next Web compares and contrasts PayPal and Dwolla with other payment methods.
  • Plastyc’s UPside cardholders can now load cash onto cards at 7-Eleven stores.
  • Oregon-based Credit Union launches BancVue’s Kasasa.
  • BrightScope partners with social media expert Arkovi.
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 10, 2012

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  • Wired Magazine UK describes how miiCard is working to help prove online identities.
  • Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch looks at how LearnVest seeks to shake up financial planning.
  • Plastyc publishes a fee and feature comparison between its UPside Visa prepaid card and Suze Orman’s The Approved Card.
  • eWise’s Secure Vault Payments adds Nebraska Online Child Support website to vendor list.
  • ThreatMetrix acquires TrustDefender, expands Cybercrime Defender Platform.
  • Outright releases a widget to help those filing a 1099-K escape possible IRS audits.
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.

2011 Funding for Finovate Alumni– Over $423 Million Raised

Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Finovate-F-Logo.jpgTo wrap up 2011, we’ve compiled a list of all of the funding Finovate alumni received over the course of the year. 

The results were impressive:
  • A total of 34 companies received funding, some more than once
  • The companies collectively raised over $423 million dollars
  • The months with the highest number of companies receiving funding were June August, both with 8 companies
  • The highest amount of funding came in the month of June, when the alumni brought in over $124.4 million
Here is a month-by-month breakdown of funding received:
January — $40.8 million raised by 3 companies
February — $10.3+ million raised by 3 companies
March — $20.4 million raised by 4 companies
June — $124.4 million raised by 8 companies
July — $1.1 million raised by 1 company
August — $103.4 million raised by 8 companies
September — $33 million raised by 1 company
October– $22 million raised by 2 companies
November — $16.3+ million raised by 3 companies
December — $52.2 million raised by 5 companies
Note: Funding that companies received before they demonstrated at Finovate was not counted. If you see any funding that is not on this list, please send the name of the company along with a link to the funding information to julie@netbanker.com and I will add it.