Recently in Bling Nation Category

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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
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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 Times. 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

To follow Finovate alumni news in real time, follow us on Twitter here

Bill.com and Doxo recognized as "AlwaysOn OnDemand 100 Top Private Company." http://bit.ly/finovate329114 http://bit.ly/finovate329115

Bling Nation launches Social Connect platform. The platform allows Bling users to connect online with social rewards features from their favorite merchants. http://bit.ly/finovate328113

Bobber Interactive garners $1.1 million Series A funding round. This funding round was led by PEAK6 Investments. http://bit.ly/finovate41113

Capital Access expands remittance program to include Puerto Rico and 21 more countries. The Capital Access platform is designed for "daily" remittances and revenue-sharing programs.  http://bit.ly/finovate329111

COCC selects mFoundry as mobile banking partners. The company has selected mFoundry's mobile INSIGHT product for multi-mode mobile banking services. http://bit.ly/finovate328114

Mint.com launches "Quest for Money" online game. The game is intended for middle school students and is available to play online. http://bit.ly/finovate411111

Morningstar to provide mutual fund Platform to eRollover. eRollover users will have access to Morningstar's historical information and comparison tools for mutual funds. http://bit.ly/finovate329113


Silver Tail Systems wins Emergent Technology Award. The award, given by the Merchant Risk Council, is rewarding the company's innovative security systems. http://mwne.ws/finovate328112

Sybase argues NFC is "way overhyped." In VentureBeat Sybase President Marty Beard argues that it isn't proven that NFC really is better than the other technologies available. http://bit.ly/finovate41112

Xero launches integrated payroll solution. http://bit.ly/finovate329112 
To see Finovate alumni company news in real-time, follow our feed on Twitter here.

Betterment and Mint.com partner for "set it and forget it" investment accounts. The accounts have no minimum balance. http://bit.ly/finovate210111

Bling Nation rolls out the "fan connect" platform in Chicago. The Chicago rollout is part of a broader national rollout to come. http://bit.ly/finovate210112

Cardlytics and NetSpend partner to bring reward offers to the underbanked. The partnership will create opportunities for targeted offers to reach users of prepaid debit cards. http://bit.ly/finovate28112

Cardlytics wins Red Herring Global 100 winner. -- Cardlytics is a pioneer in in-statement merchant-funded rewards. http://bit.ly/finovate27114

CashEdge and NYCE join forces to provide person to person payment technology. Popmoney will now be available to 3,000 NYCE financial institution clients. http://bit.ly/finovate211112

ClairMail announced that revenue tripled in 2010. The company attributes the growth to the launch of their mobile connectivity architecture in early 2010. http://mwne.ws/finovate28115

DebtGoal launches OWEing.com. The new site acts as the flagship domain and provides a tools and content supporting debt reduction. http://bit.ly/finovate131112

eRollover launches Advisor Center. Ask retirement questions online in the new Advisor Center. http://bit.ly/finovate124112

Fiserv and WorkLight partner to make mobile application deployment and development faster. http://bit.ly/finovate125111

Frost and Sullivan names mFoundry "Entrepreneurial Company of the Year" in the mobile banking category. http://bit.ly/finovate121114

Guardian Analytics announces 150%  growth. The company attributes the rapid growth to the success of its FraudMap technology. http://bit.ly/finovate210113

Jack Henry's ProfitStars.com launches new services to help small businesses accept online payments. http://bit.ly/finovate211111

Lending Club increased the maximum loan amount from $25,000 to $35,000. http://bit.ly/finovate27113

mFoundry launches standalone mobile deposit solution that can be implemented at a financial institution within 30 days. http://bit.ly/finovate28114

Intuit's Mint and TurboTax team up to make taxes easier. http://bit.ly/finovate121111

Mozo launches Money Q & A portal where users can ask questions or answer questions posed by others. http://bit.ly/finovate211113

On Deck Capital secures $15 million Series-C funding. The funding round was led by SAP Ventures. http://bit.ly/finovate131111

Plastyc closes $2 million strategic investment from Core Innovation Capital. Core Innovation Capital is the investment partner for the Center for Financial Services Innovation. http://bit.ly/finovate28111http://www.silvertailsystems.com/

Silver Tail Systems announces the addition of a user-specific monitoring system. http://bit.ly/finovate124111

SmartyPig.com adds sixty new online retailer cash-back partners, and six more gift card partners. Expedia, Hotels.com, Cabela's and Babies R Us are included in this latest offering. http://bit.ly/finovate131113

SmartyPig's cash rewards card wins Paybefore award twice. http://bit.ly/finovate12112

The Receivables Exchange partners with Biz2Credit, an online loan-matching portal. http://bit.ly/finovate125113
Here's the news from the Week of November 8, 2010. To see our updates real-time, follow us on Twitter.

Bling Nation partners with the southern USA's largest grocery chain, Brookshire Grocery. -- Bling Nation users can now pay, redeem and earn rewards with their mobile device at Brookshire and Super 1 stores. http://bit.ly/finovate11121

Donate to charity with SwipeGood and Blippy. -- Purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar and the difference is donated to the charity of your choice. http://bit.ly/finovate1185

Card 2.0 from Dynamics wins "Best in Show."  -- The high-tech credit card was named the best innovation in personal electronics in a pre-show contest sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). http://bit.ly/finovate11101

See how eRollover makes rolling over a 401k simple [video]. http://bit.ly/finovate1192

Jemstep announces the Jem 5. -- Each week Jemstep will list its top 5 mutual funds. http://bit.ly/finovate1182

Michican First Credit Union adds Jwalla online banking services. -- Michigan First has 80,000 members and $550 million in assets and was founded in 1926.  http://bit.ly/finovate1193

Jwalla partners with iPay to provide bill-pay solutions. http://bit.ly/finovate1102

Rudder.com shut down its online PFM service on Nov 3.  http://bit.ly/finovate1183. -- A conversion guide is available to those who wish to move to MoneyStrands. http://bit.ly/finovate1184

See Silver Tail's  "federation service" in action. http://bit.ly/finovate1181

Silver Tail  Systems won a contract to provide behavior analytics to US Government websites. http://bit.ly/finovate1191
 
From PayPal X Conference: Bill.com uses PayPal business payments to transform how businesses get paid. http://bit.ly/finovate10273 and gets a makeover. http://bit.ly/finovate10255

From PayPal X Conference: Bling Nation launches "FanConnect" platform. FanConnect helps consumers and businesses to connect at checkout via social media platforms like Facebook. http://bit.ly/finovate10272

Blippy and Sephora work together to spread the word about cosmetic products via Twitter. See TechCrunch's story. http://tcrn.ch/finovate10271

Continuity Control and uMonitor partner for compliance automation. http://bit.ly/finovate11334


Dynamics Inc. is profiled in "the future of credit cards" in the New York Times. http://j.mp/finovate102510

From PayPal X Conference: Expensify announces support for expense reimbursement via PayPal. See a demonstration: http://bit.ly/finovate1142.

How Finsphere is helping to prevent identity theft with geo-location and mobile check-ins. http://rww.to/finovate10281

Ixaris partners with Apigee to create payment application development API platform.  -- The new platform will be named Ixaris Opn (pronounced "open"). http://bit.ly/finovate1121

From PayPal X Conference: More on Kabbage's service to provide working capital for eBay Sellers. http://bit.ly/finovate10276

Lending Club welcomes North Carolina and Kansas. Peer-to-peer personal loans are now available in 42 states. http://bit.ly/finovate1141

Mint.com launches MintData to delve into the spending habits of Mint's 4 million users. The data is anonymous and provides insight into the pocketbooks of customers in 300 U.S. cities. http://tcrn.ch/finovate1122

From PayPal X Conference: Outright.com launches free accounting app in PayPal apps marketplace. http://bit.ly/finovate10274

Citi takes CashEdge's Popmoney Service live. FinVentures breaks it down. http://bit.ly/finovate1123

The Receivables Exchange Co-Founder and CEO Justin Brownhill was named one of  Silicon Alley Insider's "Silicon Alley 100." The list covers New York's "Coolest Tech People in 2010." http://bit.ly/finovate11335

SafetyPay pioneers new ways to provide micropayments in the gaming industry. http://bit.ly/finovate10277
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We're pleased to announce that the demo videos from FinovateFall 2010 are now available for free download (or immediate consumption) from the Finovate archives.

This fall's NYC conference showcased 56 handpicked companies doing 7-minute demonstrations (no slides allowed) of their latest technology innovations to a sold-out audience of 650 financial & banking executives, venture capitalists, press, analysts and entrepreneurs.

Check out these cutting-edge ideas in financial, banking, payments, mobile, lending, investing and security technologies today for inspiration and your next edge on the competition! 

(P.S. If you're interested in joining us at the next Finovate event, tickets are now on sale for FinovateEurope (Feb, 1, 2011 in London). It is going to be an amazing showcase of European and global fintech innovation!)

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Eric Mattson is CEO of Online Financial Innovations, the parent company of NetBanker, Online Banking Report and the Finovate Conference Series. He can be reached at eric@netbanker.com.

Alumni News -- Week of September 20, 2010

Here are the news updates for the past week. To view our updates in real-time, follow us on Twitter here.

Acculynk partners with JetPay for Internet PIN debit.  New system PaySecure allows users to enter their PINs without using the keyboard, providing additional security. Merchants can use the system without changing credit card processors.  http://bit.ly/finovate9211

Bling Nation partners with VeriFone for a mobile tap-and-pay initiative. http://bit.ly/finovate9234

Boulevard R is offering retirement advisors a one-year free trial of its new Retiremap product. http://bit.ly/finovate9231

CashEdge launches PopMoney for small business. http://bit.ly/finovate9235 

MPowerMobile is on track to provide financial services to 5 million underserved people within 5 years.  http://bit.ly/finovate9233

Outright.com launched site improvements including the ability to edit multiple transactions at once, and added support for Harvest, the time-tracking platform.  Outright has also added a  subscribe option on help boards. http://bit.ly/finovate9236

How (and why) did National Australia Bank (NAB) create its own best competitor, UBank? Read more here: http://bit.ly/finovate9232

Here are the news updates for the week of August 16, 2010. To view in real-time, follow us here

Acculynk partners with NetWorks to provide pin debit solutions. NetWorks is a nonprofit processing organization which serves credit unions in ten states, processing 13 million transactions a month. http://bit.ly/finovate8171

BlingNation founder Meyer Malka interviewed by The Paypers. The story focuses on new innovation in mobile payments. http://bit.ly/finovate8192 

ClairMail unveils new tools for international currency conversion. The tools include multi-currency management, international bank/ATM locators, and multi-language capability. http://bit.ly/finovate8191

Warren Buffett buys 4.4 million shares of Fiserv. The $220 million investment boosts confidence in the fintech sector. http://bit.ly/finovate8193  

Finovate alum Kabbage selected as Microsoft BizSpark partner of the day. http://bit.ly/finovate8182

Want to see Lending Club, BillShrink and more at SXSW 2011? See Lending Club's post and vote for the panels you would like to see. http://bit.ly/finovate8161  

Prosper releases 12-month P2P lending statistics. Prosper considers itself the world's largest peer-to-peer lender with 34,000 loans totaling $202 million. http://bit.ly/finovate8181
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We're very excited to reveal the 56 cutting-edge companies that have been selected to demo their latest technology innovations on October 4 and 5 in New York City at FinovateFall.

Over the show's two days, attendees will get to watch the future of fintech and banktech unfold on stage via fast-paced demos (28 each day) from these innovators. And then have a chance to interact with top executives from each of the demo companies during intimate networking sessions.

Without further delay, here's the list of companies we're excited to showcase:


If you're interested in attending the conference, registering now will save you $100 on your ticket via the early-bird discount and reserve your spot (space is limited and we're expecting to sell out). We'll see you in New York!


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Eric Mattson is CEO of Online Financial Innovations, the parent company of NetBanker, Online Banking Report and the Finovate Conference Series. He can be reached at eric@netbanker.com.

Alumni News -- Week of August 9, 2010

Here are our news updates for the week of August 9, 2010. To get our updates real-time, follow us here

Bling Nation partners with two more banks. Bling Nation is now providing its mobile payments solution to 15 banks. http://bit.ly/finovate8121

Intuit buys personal finance company Cha-Ching. Users of its Mac app are being migrated to Mint.com and Quicken.  http://tcrn.ch/finovate8101

Firethorn shows it's "SWAGG." The technology will allow users to use, exchange and purchase gift cards with their mobile phones. http://bit.ly/finovate8103    

CP Federal Credit Union selects "BOB" from Jwalla - http://bit.ly/finovate8113

On Deck Capital offers new (free) small business tools. Now On Deck Capital has launched free online credit-evaluation tools for small businesses. http://bit.ly/finovate891 

SafetyPay is entering the U.S. market. The retail pilot program will help to monetize and secure online payments. See their demo at FinovateSpring 2010 http://bit.ly/finovate8111

SmartyPig lets you share progress towards your goal. Twitter and Facebook integration allow users to share their progress towards goals. http://bit.ly/finovate894

Sybase 365 upgrades m-banking platform. Version 3.0 was released August 9. http://bit.ly/finovate8102

The Receivables Exchange announces 300% YTD growth. The company allows firms of all sizes to sell receivables to improve cash flow. http://bit.ly/finovate8112

TransFS raises $510,000 for credit card processing comparison site. The TechCrunch story indicates that TransFS hopes to replicate for business what BillShrink has done for consumers. http://tcrn.ch/finovate893  

Here are the news headlines we posted this week on Twitter (follow our feed here).


Bling Nation hires Matthew Murphy as General Manager for the newly-formed Pacific region. Murphy comes to Bling Nation from Chegg.com, where he served as vice president of marketing. http://bit.ly/finovate6232


Kapitall hosts a Facebook contest for a new advertising slogan. Contest ends July 21st. The winner will receive an iPod Touch. http://bit.ly/finovate6233


LiqPAY wins award for coin management technology. LiqPAY received accolades from the Innovation in Banking Technology Awards. http://bit.ly/finovate6213


Mango (sister company to Finovate alums Gratio and MPower) sweetens up banking! See the full story at Netbanker.  http://bit.ly/finovate6241  


SecondMarket featured on The Asian Banker [vid]. The video features Jeremy Smith, chief strategy officer at SecondMarket. http://bit.ly/finovate6211


TradeKing is changing clearing firms. TradeKing users, watch for the transition documents to come from Penson. The transition is expected to occur in Q3. http://bit.ly/finovate6235


ValueCruncher launches new comparison analysis tools. See companies' implied share prices and EV/EBITDA in the new calculator tools. http://bit.ly/finovate6234


Yodlee names Jim Frankola as CFO. Frankola joins Yodlee from Ariba Inc. where he was CFO. http://bit.ly/finovate6231

Here are the news headlines we posted this week on Twitter (follow our feed here).

ThreatMetrix partners with Offerpal Media to stop fraud -- The ThreatMetrix data will give Offerpal additional abilities to identify potentially fraudulent user transactions. http://bit.ly/cerWUY

Peter Pham to leave BillShrink -- Schwark Satyavolu will re-assume the CEO Position. Pham will be leaving BillShrink to join Trinity Ventures as an Entrepreneur in Residence. http://bit.ly/FINOVATE611

iBearSoft releases a video demo of the iBearMoney for iPad -- Money for iPad is a top-selling app in the paid personal finance category in the American iTunes app store. http://bit.ly/FINOVATE613

Lending Club hits $10 mil in monthly originations for first time -- Congratulations to Lending Club on their continued growth! http://bit.ly/Finovate621

mFoundry featured in NY Times -- (6/1/10 p.B1) Article on card-based loyalty programs moving to mobile. http://nyti.ms/cardloyalty

Zecco's CEO Michael Raneri has been named a winner of IDG's 2010 InfoWorld CTO 25 Award -- Zecco is an online brokerage which offers free stock trades and low-cost options trades. http://bit.ly/FINOVATE621

Alpha Clone investment account service has launched -- A clone is a portfolio of stocks based on the stock idea of one or more fund managers. http://bit.ly/aQcBgu

Bling Nation, mobile payments provider, hires Shan Mehta to lead strategic alliances -- Mehta will also be responsible for maintaining and expanding exiting relationships with service partners. http://bit.ly/Finovate631

MoneyStrands adds cash tracking to application -- Cash tracking is now available for MoneyStrands via Web and mobile app. http://bit.ly/finovate641

Alumni News – Week of April 19

Here are the news headlines we posted this week on Twitter (follow it here).

Bling Nation provides mobile payments to Community State Bank - Community State Bank in Lamar, CO, is offering the Bling Nation mobile payments service. The bank's program includes more than 40 merchants accepting Bling Tag payments. http://bit.ly/bzAIDn

Dow Jones and IAC shut down FiLife - Dow Jones and IAC closed their financial information site FiLife.com. The site allowed visitors to discuss financial issues and concerns. The FiLife iPhone app is no longer available in the iTunes app store. http://bit.ly/cSjsPk

Geezeo partners with Unitus Community Credit Union - Geezeo has entered a partnership with Unitus Community Credit Union. Geezeo will provide financial tools to the credit union's members, including its PFM, community, and integrated marketing platforms. http://bit.ly/9FeyaJ

Mint switches to Intuit for data aggregation - Mint is now using aggregation software from its parent company Intuit. The PFM can now pull data from 16,000 financial institutions. Previously, Mint partnered with Yodlee for back-end account aggregation. http://bit.ly/9BTJwV

Mortgagebot reports increase in loan applications - Mortgagebot's online mortgage shopping service, Mortgage Marvel, reported an increase of consumer visits of 140% from 2008 to 2009, resulting in a 66% increase in overall loan applications taken by participating lenders. http://bit.ly/b4DP7S

Online Resources names interim CEO - Online Resources has named John Dorman as interim chief executive officer, replacing former interim CEO Raymond T. Crosier who resigned from the company. Dorman will also continue to serve as co-chairman of the company's board. Online Resources continues to search for a permanent CEO. http://bit.ly/cpiLJZ

Prosper Raises $14.7 Million - Prosper has raised $14.7 million in a Series D round. The funding came from Prosper's previous investors as well as two new ones, TomorrowVentures and CompuCredit Holdings. Prosper has raised a total of $57.7 million to date. TomorrowVentures is the investment vehicle for Google CEO Eric Schmidt. http://tcrn.ch/bXjOGp

SmartyPig raises its interest rates -SmartyPig announced plans to raise the interest on certain accounts. Beginning May 19, APY will be increased to 2.15% for accounts with balances of less $50,000. http://bit.ly/dpCq5g

ThreatMetrix provides fraud detection to BigCrumbs.com - ThreatMetrix is providing fraud-detection services to BigCrumbs.com, a company that provides consumers loyalty rewards for shopping online. ThreatMetrix will help identify purchases made with stolen or suspect credit cards. http://bit.ly/aaZZBn

Vidoop's assets used to launch Confident Technologies - Security software company Vidoop, whose assets were acquired in January, is being relaunched as Confident Technologies. The company uses image-recognition technology to allow graphics to be used for password authentication. http://bit.ly/9xWOz3

WorkLight's new development platform - Worklight launched the Worklight Solution for E-Commerce, a development system for cross-platform applications. The solution allows companies to design applications for mobile devices, desktops, social networks and personalized homepages as part of a single development project. http://bit.ly/9Qesn3

Fiserv, Jack Henry, FIS and ClairMail Provide 86% of Mobile Banking to Community Banks - Banc Investment Group conducted a survey of 687 community bankers. Of the institutions already offering mobile services, 36% use a technology platform from Fiserv, 24% from Jack Henry, 16% from FIS/Metavante and 10% from Clairmail. http://bit.ly/aZTAut

And news from our newest soon-to-be alumni presenting at FinovateSpring 2010:

Continuity Control launches ComplianceTax.com - Continuity Control launched ComplianceTax.com, a website that helps educate banks and credit unions about the expenses involved in complying with government regulation. http://bit.ly/9CNOFk

TSYS processes payment cards for Japanese bank - TSYS was selected by SBI Sumishin Net Bank to process its payment card portfolio. TSYS will handle the issuance of retail membership cards, private-label credit cards, and association-branded cards. SBU Sumishin is a Japanese Internet-based bank with more than 750,000 accounts. http://bit.ly/8YrjcT

Visa to acquire CyberSource - Visa has agreed to acquire CyberSource for $26 per share, or about $2 billion. CyberSource provides electronic payment and security services. The deal is expected to close in Visa's fourth fiscal quarter. http://bit.ly/ams1Y9

Thumbnail image for BlingNationLogo.jpgBling Nation has had its mobile payment system up and running in La Junta, Colorado, for nearly a year. The pilot program began in February 2009, with the system going into public use three months later. As of early March, nearly half of The State Bank of La Junta's checking account customers were using the system to make retail payments at more than 50 local merchants.

Bling Nation provides payment stickers called Bling Tags designed to fit on mobile phones. Participating financial institutions provide the stickers to their customers. To make a purchase, the consumer touches the Bling Tag to a point-of-sale device called a Blinger (see screenshot #1, below). The money is debited from the user's account, and Bling Nation sends a text message confirming the transaction. For larger purchases, the bank has the option to call the user's mobile phone for a PIN to authorize the transaction.

A Brief History of the Program:

  • 2007: Bling Nation tests the system in Palo Alto using Facebook employees as customers
  • December 2009: Bling Nation enters discussions with State Bank of La Junta
  • February 2009: State Bank begins the Bling Tag project, becomes Bling Nation's first paying customer
  • May 2009: State Bank begins offering Bling Tags to the public
  • September 2009: Bling Nation presents its system at Finovate2009 in New York (video available here)
  • March 1, 2010: 500 of The State Bank of La Junta's 1,100 checking account customers are signed up for the system
  • March 23, 2010: Bling Nation announces its first east coast client, Adirondack Trust Company, based in Saratoga Springs, New York

Bling Nation focuses on small communities where local banks support a large share of the retail market. In addition to the Colorado trial and the recently announced effort with Adirondack Trust (press release here), the company is looking to expand in similar communities in New England, Boston and Nashville.

Bling Nation authenticates transactions over cell phone networks, connecting the merchant directly to the bank without involving national processing networks. By providing a local payment system, the company can offer lower transaction costs, encouraging retailers to work with local banks. The company also allows merchants to offer savings to customers in the form of loyalty programs, which can be tracked automatically.

#1. Bling Nation's website shows a Bling Tag and a Blinger

BlingNation1.png 

#2. State Bank prominently features a Bling Nation video on its homepage

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Alumni News – Week of March 22

Here are the news headlines we posted this week on Twitter (follow it here).

Billeo includes AARP discounts in Offer Assistant - Billeo's Offer Assistant program, which helps online shoppers find discounts and incentive rewards, now includes AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). The association has about 40 million members. http://bit.ly/dtxfzU

BillShrink holds Facebook sweepstakes - BillShrink is giving away an iPad in a sweepstakes to encourage Facebook users to follow the company. The company will also give an iPad to the person who referred the winning user. The contest is similar in structure to a Mint promotion (our story here). Both are being handled by Wildfire. http://bit.ly/b8Vr6M

Bling Nation signs Adirondack Trust Company - The Adirondack Trust Company, located in Saratoga Springs, New York, is offering mobile payments through Bling Nation's system. This is the first East Coast deployment of the payments system. http://bit.ly/8Y0QR2

Bling Nation helping banks and merchants build relationships - According to a report from American Banker, Bling Nation's community-based payments system is building stronger ties between banks and retailers. By providing a payment system between community banks and merchants, Bling can offer lower transaction costs, encouraging merchants to work with local banks. http://bit.ly/9JkfgK

CashEdge provides P2P to Boeing Employees Credit Union - Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU) is the first credit union in the country to offer CashEdge's POPMoney person-to-person payments service. The service launched on March 20. http://bit.ly/9RPJ2k

Diversinet expands focus on healthcare sector - Diversinet announced at the CTIA Wireless 2010 conference that it would increase its focus on providing mobile solutions to the healthcare market, connecting care providers and payers with healthcare information. The company's new strategy involves introducing new mobile applications, creating custom data portals for care providers, and developing systems to connect mobile devices to medical equipment. http://bit.ly/dcshRf

Fiserv to provide Mobile Money services to SunTrust Banks - SunTrust Banks selected Fiserv's Mobile Money to provide customers with mobile financial services. The Fiserv system will allow SunTrust to offer account access and customer alerts via text messaging and mobile browsers. http://bit.ly/bvvcFY

Lending Club photo contest with up to $2,500 in prizes - Lending Club launched a photo contest to encourage submission of new background images to use in its redesigned website; as many as six winners will take home cash prizes. http://bit.ly/b632aj

Mortgagebot case study: Community Bank - Charmichaels, PA- based Community Bank is using technology from Mortgagebot to open up new business channels and make the mortgage loan process more efficient. A Mortgagebot-produced case study on the bank reported a 68% increase in the volume of closed loans in 2009, compared to its results in 2008. http://bit.ly/9fi0t2

SecondMarket plans presence in Asia -- SecondMarket is preparing to push into Asian markets, where it may eventually employ as many as 150 people. The move into Asia follows $15 million in financing obtained from two Asian investors in February 2010. http://bit.ly/9OcLyQ

Yodlee data aggregation powers new PFM -- Newly launched online PFM In & Out Cash Management has partnered with Yodlee to import transaction data from more than 10,000 U.S. financial institutions. http://bit.ly/ah4nbY

Zopa marks fifth year in business -- Zopa (UK) announced its fifth anniversary in March. To celebrate, the company is running a sweepstakes awarding a 5% loan each day. http://bit.ly/9O5nQu

Alumni News – Week of March 1

Here are the news headlines we posted recently on our Finovate Twitter feed (follow it here).

Acculynk Provides Debit Payment System for Ritz Interactive -- Acculynk will provide its PaySecure debit payment service to Ritz Interactive. The service, which allows consumers to make PIN-based debit transactions online, is being deployed on 16 Ritz e-commerce sites. http://bit.ly/aE5DlD

FIRST ROI Joins BancVue -- FIRST ROI, which develops interactive products for financial institutions, is joining its parent company BancVue and changing its name to BancVue Interactive. http://bit.ly/auuovg

NFCNews Covers Bling Nation's Mobile Payments Pilot Program - Bling Nation is testing its mobile payments program in Colorado. According to the NFCNews report, about 500 customers of The State Bank of La Junta use Bling Tags - tiny chips attached to their cell phones - in order to make debit purchases at more than 50 participating businesses in the Colorado town. Bling Nation authenticates the transactions over cell phone networks. About half the bank's customers have signed up for the service. http://bit.ly/bqHhMa

Financial Institutions Adopting POPMoney -- CashEdge announced that more than 100 financial institutions will add its POPMoney person-to-person payment service to their customer options by the end of the second quarter of 2010. POPMoney allows payment transactions over e-mail and mobile services. http://bit.ly/aNNazq

Fiserv Introduces Boardroom Series -- Fiserv announced a new information service for its clients. Called the Fiserv Boardroom Series, the service provides clients with research data and business advice from a series of subject matter experts. The Series will include videos, webinars, and white papers. http://bit.ly/9hEA8J

Fiserv Study on Gen Y Banking Habits -- Research conducted by Fiserv shows that members of Generation Y are frequent users of online and mobile financial services. Gen Y also favors debit cards over credit cards and is more comfortable with Internet-based services than previous generations. http://bit.ly/cLbHBu

Firethorn Expands its Mobile Offering to More Banks -- Firethorn has updated its mobile banking app to allow consumers to access their accounts at more than 3,700 US financial institutions. Previously, Firethorn's mobile banking solution only worked with institutions that were integrated Firethorn providers. http://bit.ly/apbePC (Finovate blog entry here.)

Geezeo to Provide PFM & Social Tools to Vantage Credit Union -- Vantage Credit Union selected Geezeo to provide additional online tools to its Internet banking services. Vantage members now have access to Geezeo's customizable online personal finance management and social networking platform. http://bit.ly/9tHqWH

iPay Technologies Announces Invoicing System -- iPay Technologies announced Billpayperless, a new electronic invoicing and receivables management product for small businesses. The system allows small business owners to receive electronic payments through credit cards or PayPal accounts. http://bit.ly/9C9hUb

iThryv Rebrands to Alkami Technology -- iThryv announced on March 2 that it has completed the transition to its new corporate identity, Alkami Technology. Under the new name, the company will focus on providing online banking solutions for the financial services industry. http://bit.ly/domtAa

Mint Giving Away Apple iPad -- Mint.com is encouraging people to follow the company on Facebook by giving away a free Apple iPad. The winner will be selected on March 17. http://bit.ly/cvRsPi

Prosper Launches Talk Taboo Website -- On March 3, Prosper launched its new Talk Taboo website. The site allows users to share personal finance stories. The site offers a debt consolidation guide and is running an introductory sweepstakes to encourage users. http://bit.ly/9SuG02

TradeKing Launches Mobile Trading Site -- Online broker TradeKing announced a new mobile trading site. After activating the mobile features, clients can access TradeKing from any mobile at http://m.tradeking.com to get stock quotes, check account balances, and place trades. http://bit.ly/b4GRrP

Tyfone Announces MicroSD Secure Digital Memory Cards -- Tyfone announced the completion of its SideTap micro secure digital (MicroSD) memory cards, which will become available to consumers in the second half of 2010. The memory cards, which carry financial information, can be used in mobile phones and accessed at contactless payment terminals, creating an electronic wallet. http://bit.ly/9wi5aR

WorkLight to Host Widget Webinar -- On March 16, 2010, WorkLight will host a webinar entitled, "5 Questions You Should Answer Before Launching Widget Banking." The webinar will cover widget technology and its impact on the banking world, as well as providing discussion on implementation. http://bit.ly/d7LhDz

Zecco Updates Website with New Tools -- Online broker Zecco has rebuilt its website to offer new data tools for investors. New additions to the site include real-time quotes, charting tools, and real-time portfolio monitoring. http://bit.ly/aYghMi

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