Finovate: Lending Club Archives

Finovate Alumni News-- January 24, 2012

By Julie Schicktanz on January 24, 2012 8:17 AM

American Banker reports PayPal tests its POS system at Office Depot.

LBi integrates Service2Media platform for clients including Coca-Cola, & Sony. Come see Service2Media demo live at FinovateEurope on February 7.

Small Business Trends examines the pros and cons of financing a startup using Prosper, Lending Club, or Lendio.

Ping Identity launches blog called Identity Matters. Come see Ping Identity at FinovateEurope Feb. 7 in London.

FiPath announces campaign to encourage Generation X to save for retirement.

BofA to use transaction-based marketing technology from Cardlytics to offer customers daily deals.

Currensee receives additional $2 million in series C financing.

Finovate interviews David Barrett, CEO of Expensify http://bit.ly/zVZzD9

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.

Lending Club Shares 2011 Accomplishment Figures

By Julie Schicktanz on January 16, 2012 1:53 PM

In a blog post last week, Lending Club detailed its 2011 accomplishments.

Here are some of the highlights:

Over 21,000 loans were originated
Originated loans exceeded $257 million
More than 24,000 new investors joined
Over 460 million dollars in personal loans have been originated since Lending Club's start in 2007

Other accomplishments include receiving an installment of $25 million in capital and being named to Forbes' America's Most Promising Companies list.

To learn more about Lending Club, watch its FinovateStartup09 demo.

Finovate Alumni News-- January 16, 2012

By Julie Schicktanz on January 16, 2012 11:51 AM

SmartMoney (Feb 2012) article, "Attack of the 6.5-point Typeface" cites research from Transparency Labs.

Rescuecom asks if Dwolla can become the new PayPal.

CNN Money names SmartyPig "Best Savings Alternative".

Missouri News channel KY3 recommends using Prosper and Lending Club as a creative way to fund your business.

Bangor Daily News profiles CashStar.

NY Times blog talks about LearnVest as a financial planner for the middle class.

AARP lists ChargeSmart as a future way to pay bills using unwanted gift cards.

FeeFighters hosts webinar about ecommerce on January 16.

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 4, 2012

By Julie Schicktanz on January 4, 2012 10:39 AM

Forbes recommends Budgetpulse, Mint.com, Buxfer, and Yodlee as PFMs to help keep track of your money.

Fox News advocates ReadyForZero to help pay down debt.

Prosper launches Kindle Fire sweepstakes.

Fast Company breaks down how ReadyForZero works.

Tamebay shares how miiCard is helping to increase trust online.

P2P Lending News reports that Prosper and Lending Club facilitated $40 million in loans in December.

Expensify gives users 10 free scans per month.

Geezeo signs 5 credit unions during the last week of 2011.

Cortal Consors announces new version and expansion of Hopee.

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.

Lending Club Removes Service Fee on Large Loans

By Julie Schicktanz on January 3, 2012 3:59 PM

Last week Lending Club announced that, for a limited time, it will forgo the 1% lender service fee on loans in excess of $20,000 for the entire life of the loan.

P2P Lending News reports:

"Lending Club is likely dropping its service fee on a test basis to increase investor demand in larger notes. Because borrowers with larger loan sizes have much larger payments, investors tend to see them as riskier investment options."

Lending Club has not yet disclosed how long the fee waiver will last.

To learn more about Lending Club, watch its FinovateStartup09 demo.

Finovate Alumni News-- January 3, 2012

By Julie Schicktanz on January 3, 2012 9:05 AM

RobotDough leaves GoDaddy due to SOPA support conflict.

Philly.com describes the Jemstep signup process.

Providence Business News reports Andera moves to a new office building.

Zopa Italy rebrands as Smartika.

eToro blog launches new column dedicated to analyzing the weekly activity on eToro OpenBook.

Forbes looks at Dwolla's payment revolution.

Ping Identity announces PingFederate is now available as an Amazon Machine Image on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.

Credit Karma launches free credit monitoring service.

The Receivables Exchange announces strategic alliance with Insperity Investment.

Lending Club removes service fee on large loans.

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

By Julie Schicktanz on December 22, 2011 2:06 PM

To 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

Kabbage: $6.7 million -- Blog post

Kony Solutions: $19.1 million -- Blog post

On Deck Capital: $15 million -- Press release

February -- $10.3+ million raised by 3 companies

eToro: $8.3 million -- Press release

Plastyc: $2 million -- Blog post

SecureKey: Undisclosed -- Blog post

March -- $20.4 million raised by 4 companies

Bobber Interactive: $1.4 million -- Press release

Credit Sesame: $6.2 million -- Press release

Finsphere: $1.8 million -- Blog post

Guardian Analytics: $11 million -- Blog post

June -- $124.4 million raised by 8 companies

Balance Financial: $1.5 million -- Blog post

Braintree: $34 million -- Blog post

Dynamics: $35 million -- Press release

eWise: $14 million -- Blog post

Prosper: $17.2 million -- Press release

Silver Tail Systems: $20 million -- Blog post

Ftrans: $650,000 -- Blog post

Lendio: $2 million -- Blog post

July -- $1.1 million raised by 1 company

Continuity Control: $1.1 million -- Blog post

August -- $103.4 million raised by 8 companies

edo Interactive: $20 million -- Press release

Kabbage: $17 million -- Blog post

Lending Club: $25 million -- Blog post

miiCard: $900k -- Press release

On Deck Capital: $19 million -- Blog post

peerTransfer: $7.5 million -- Press release

Simple (Formerly BankSimple): $10 million -- Blog post

Xero: $4 million -- Press release

September -- $33 million raised by 1 company

Cardlytics: $33 million -- Blog post

October-- $22 million raised by 2 companies

BillGuard: $10 million -- Blog post

CashStar: $12 million -- Press release

November -- $16.3+ million raised by 3 companies

Braintree: Undisclosed -- Blog post

Ftrans: $1.3 million -- Blog post

SecondMarket: $15 million -- Press release

December -- $52.2 million raised by 5 companies

Bill.com: $15.5 million -- Press release

Kabbage: $12 million -- Press release

mFoundry: $18 million -- Press release

MOOTWIN: $5.5 million -- Blog post

Plastyc: $1.2 million -- Blog post

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.

Finovate Alumni News-- December 21, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on December 21, 2011 8:43 AM

Fox News discusses how Prosper & Lending Club help small businesses.

The Chicago Tribune profiles Simple.

BizReport examines card-linked offers from Linkable Networks (formerly CLOVR Media).

Check Point announces Anti-Bot Software.

ReadWriteWeb's Richard MacManus lists Xero as #8 in his 2011 list of top 10 web products.

Inc Magazine lists Expensify as 1 of 8 startups to watch in 2012.

Ping Identity makes the top 10 list of most exciting IT security vendors. Come see Ping Identity's live demo at FinovateEurope.

HelloWallet gives away 20,000 free subscriptions in 2011 to families in need.

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-- December 15, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on December 15, 2011 9:59 AM

AGBeat profiles Expensify.

Celent's report identifies ProfitStars as the market share leader in Remote Deposit Capture.

Finextra looks at the growth and success of Lending Club, Prosper, and Zopa.

Segmint appoints Thomas C. Tyler as VP.

PayPal plans its own version of daily deals.

Dwolla gives users instant access to cash.

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-- December 14, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on December 14, 2011 9:12 AM

The Wall Street Journal lists Prosper, Lending Club, and Weemba as resources for home financing.

PayNearMe partners with iSend to simplify international gift giving this holiday season.

Doxo wins Red Herring Global 100.

Kony Solutions launches KonyOne.

Credit Karma and Intuit team up to provide credit services within FI-branded environments.

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-- December 13, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on December 13, 2011 10:22 AM

Visa certifies authentication system from Transecq's sister company, ENTERSECT.

New Scientist recommends borrowing from the crowd by using P2P sites Zopa, Prosper, & Lending Club.

Freewaregenius recommends using ReadyForZero to pay off and manage debt.

Yahoo! Finance reports SecondMarket's Barry Silbert contributed investments to SponsorHub's $750,000 round.

PayNearMe enables BHPH auto dealers to expand collection of cash payments.

Kabbage secures $12 million in financing.

ThreatMetrix wins Red Herring Global 100.

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-- December 6, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on December 6, 2011 10:53 AM

P2P Lending News reports Prosper & Lending Club issued $37.4 mil in loans in November.

Trade Streaming interviews Rob Foregger, co-founder of Personal Capital, on the future of online investing.

mFoundry receives $18 mil in growth capital from MasterCard, Intel, FIS, and Motorola Mobility.

Bank Systems & Technology looks at how USAA uses Yodlee to aggregate accounts and power its PFM.

SavvyMoney (Formerly DebtGoal) launches new site, adds Jean Chatzky to team.

Steve Shivers, doxo CEO, speaks up about the potential cuts to the US Postal Service.

Credit Unions see positive results from Mortgagebot PowerSite technology.

Q2ebanking ranks on The Austin American-Statesman's List of Top Workplaces.

Zecco unveils its new Trading Center.

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-- December 2, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on December 2, 2011 9:24 AM

MasterCard and mFoundry executives discuss partnership.

The Silicon Prairie names Dwolla number 1 startup in DesMoines, looks for a number 2 startup following the "Dwolla-trajectory."

Simple is slowly sending out a few dozen invites at a time.

Prosper announces its support of UK P2P Finance Association.

The Social Lending Network shows off Lending Club's Trading Platform.

Bloomberg Businessweek lists Expensify as an app that lets you work like an executive.

peerTransfer partners with Nelnet Business Solutions, provider of campus commerce services.

Boku, SecondMarket, & Lending Club listed in Forbes Top 20 Private Companies.

My Money Blog highlights Jemstep.

BECU implements Leadfusion's Guided Selling.

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-- November 17, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on November 17, 2011 9:05 AM

Expensify listed as 1 of 10 innovative startups that rocked the Under the Radar Conference.

Reuters blog explains how Prosper and Lending Club are cutting out the banker middleman.

LearnVest offers free personal financial advice today. Use the code LVDAYPASS100 to get a day pass.

Xconomy reports: BillGuard, Backed by Khosla Ventures, Wants to Stop Sneaky Credit Card Charges.

Seventure Partners and Naxicap Partners invest 4 million Euro in Mootwin.

Michigan Farm Bureau selects Identity Theft 911 to provide members with ID Theft Protection & Resolution Services.

Betterment integrates its goal feature with Mint.com and Pageonce.

Visa's V.me mobile wallet to compete with PayPal.

Yodlee partners with Open Solutions.

Jingit sees good uptake on U.S. Bank debit card.

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-- November 10, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on November 10, 2011 10:34 AM

FeeFighters shares its web traffic spikes from being in TechCrunch articles.

Monitise launches mobile checkout service.

Fox Business News mentions how Tyfone is helping to retrofit cellphones with NFC capability.

Reuters reports how Lending Club uses consumer sentiment towards banks as an opportunity.

Striata selected by Securitas, a growing security company in South Africa, to provide eBilling & ePayment to customers.

ThreatMetrix deploys multi-layered data encryption architecture in new release of Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform.

Iowa-based UNI CU and W.Va-based WV United FCU sign on for Dwolla's FiSync.

MyBankTracker compares Offermatic to Groupon and Womply.

Linkable Networks (formerly Clovr Media) partners with 24/7 Real Media to tap into card linked offers.

Wade Arnold, T8 Webware CEO, is selected for The Courier's Class of 2011 20 Under 40 award.

ReadyForZero launches new blog.

Bill.com's paperless bill management wins silver award.

Simple explains its new "Simple" name.

DoughMain launches financial education game Sand Dollar City.

CNNMoney highlights Lendio and On Deck Capital.

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.

Lending Club Reaches $400 Million in Loan Originations

By Julie Schicktanz on November 4, 2011 12:40 PM

Yesterday morning, Lending Club announced its achievement of reaching the $400 million mark in loan originations:

"The milestone comes less than four months after Lending Club reached $300 million in total loan originations in July. A record $27.5 million in personal loan originations in October contributed to the milestone. Lending Club loan originations are growing by more than 150 percent year-over-year, and the platform has now paid investors more than $33 million in interest."

To learn more about Lending Club, watch its demo from FinovateStartup 2009.

Finovate Alumni Website Traffic in September

By Julie Schicktanz on November 2, 2011 1:00 PM

Each month we survey the Web-traffic performance of Finovate alums using data from Web-analytics company Compete.

Out of 268 alumni, 80 had more than 10,000 unique U.S. visitors in September 2011 and are included in the tables below. Of those, 33 (41%) had more visitors in September than August. Year-over-year, 42 (52%) had traffic increases.

Private Companies

Seeking Alpha and Cortera had the highest traffic in September with 2.1 and 2.0 million unique visitors, respectively. Cortera also had the highest increase in number of unique year-over-year visits with over 1.5 more visits in 2011 than in 2010.
Kabbage had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, up 280x.
Weemba saw the highest monthly growth percentage with more than 7.5 times the number of unique visitors in September compared to August.
SmartCredit.com had the highest increase in number of unique year-over-year visitors, growing by 126,000.

Source: Compete.com retrieved the week of October 26, 2011

1) The previous month recorded was August 2011

2) Sears Credit Score is powered by CreditKarma.com

3) Truaxis was formerly BillShrink

4) Kasasa is powered by BancVue

Public companies

CheckFree had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, with over 7 times the number of visitors this year than last year.
Intuit had a notable increase in number of unique, year-over-year visitors, increasing by 300,000 visits.
Check Point had the highest month-over-month percent growth, with 41% more visitors in September than in August.

Source: Compete.com retrieved the week of October 26, 2011

1) The previous month recorded was July 2011.

_______________________________________________________

Notes:

1. We reviewed 268 Finovate alumni. Only those with at least 10,000 unique visitors in July are listed.

3. NM = not measurable

4. t= tie

5. Compete estimates online visitors based on the activity of a panel of more than 2 million U.S. Internet users. It is only an estimate of traffic and may undercount at-work usage.

Finovate Alumni Website Traffic in August

By Julie Schicktanz on October 20, 2011 6:30 PM

Each month we survey the Web-traffic performance of Finovate alums using data from Web-analytics company Compete.

Out of 268 alumni, 75 had more than 10,000 unique U.S. visitors in August 2011 and are included in the tables below. Of those, 41 (55%) had more visitors in August than July. Year-over-year, 45 (60%) had traffic increases.

Private Companies

Seeking Alpha -- the most-trafficked in August with 2.5 million unique visitors -- also had the highest increase in number of unique month-over-month visits with 300,000 more visits in August than in July.
Budgettracker.com saw the highest monthly growth percentage with more than 6.5 times the number of unique visitors in August compared to July.
Betterment had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, up 88x.
Cortera had the highest number of unique year-over-year visitors, growing by 1.5 million.

Source: Compete.com retrieved week of October 3, 2011

1) The previous month recorded was July 2011

2) Truaxis was formerly BillShrink

3) Sears Credit Score is powered by CreditKarma.com

4) Kasasa is powered by BancVue

5) Checkingfinder.com is powered by BancVue

Public Companies

Fiserv had the highest month-over-month percent growth, with 50% more visitors.
CheckFree had the highest percentage growth year-over-year, with over 5 times the number of visitors.
S1 also had a high percentage growth year-over-year, doubling its visitors.

Source: Compete.com retrieved the week of October 3, 2011

1) The previous month recorded was July 2011.

_______________________________________________________

Notes:

1. We reviewed 268 Finovate alumni. Only those with at least 10,000 unique visitors in July are listed.

3. NM = Not measurable

4. t= Tie

5. Compete estimates online visitors based on the activity of a panel of more than 2 million U.S. Internet users. It is only an estimate of traffic and may undercount at-work usage.

Finovate Alumni News-- October 4, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on October 4, 2011 5:25 PM

Mountain Top Financial Services reviews Lending Club.

Bank Innovation discusses how Cartera Commerce and Offermatic are changing the daily deals space.

Equifax purchases Charleston-based e-Thority software company.

Lighter Capital searches for a company to fund that makes or sells sweet things.

San Francisco ABC 7 recommends findabetterbank.com in order to avoid bank fees.

T8 Webware CEO Wade Arnold discusses Grip on the Silicon Prairie's PrairieCast.

The Washington Post profiles HelloWallet.

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 Website Traffic in July

By Julie Schicktanz on August 29, 2011 9:48 AM

Each month we survey the Web-traffic performance of Finovate alums using data from Web-analytics company Compete.

Out of 255 alumni, 59 (23%) had more than 10,000 unique U.S. visitors in July 2011 (see tables below). Of those, 19 (32%) had more visitors than in the previous month and 25 (42%) were flat. Year-over-year, 26 (44%) had an increase, 10 (17%) were flat, and 23 (39%) were down.

Private Companies

Notable successes:

Seeking Alpha had the most traffic in July with more than 2 million unique visitors.
eToro saw the highest monthly growth percentage with 3 times the number of unique visitors in July compared to June.
Bundle had the highest increase in number of unique month-over-month visits, with 450,000 more visitors in July than in June.
eRollover had the highest percent year-over-year traffic increase, with 260,000 more visitors from last July.

Source: Compete.com retrieved week of August 15, 2011

1. The previous month recorded was May 2011

2. Sears Credit Score is powered by CreditKarma.com

3. Kasasa is powered by BancVue

Public Companies

Notable successes:

PayPal had the highest number of U.S. visitors in July, with more than 30 million visitors.
Jack Henry & Associates saw the highest monthly growth with twice as many visitors in July than June.
Wipro Technologies had the highest year-over-year growth, with 3 times as many visitors this year compared to last year.
FIS Global and Online Resources also doubled their traffic compared to last year.

Source: Compete.com retrieved the week of August 15, 2011

1. The previous month recorded was May 2011.

_______________________________________________________

Notes:

1. We reviewed 255 Finovate alumni. Only those with at least 10,000 unique visitors in July are listed.

3. NM = Not measurable

4. Compete estimates online visitors based on the activity of a panel of more than 2 million U.S. Internet users. It is only an estimate of traffic and may undercount at-work usage.

Alumni News -- Week of August 1, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on August 8, 2011 2:09 PM

Bobber Interactive

Tech Flash interviewed Eric Eastman, Bobber Interactive's CEO, on how the gamification of money management aims to help Generation Y better manage their money. Link

BrightScope

BrightScope released a report detailing the top 12 small-cap funds in America's 401k plans. This report is part of a series that provides insight into the top funds and managers in the retirement marketplace. Link

ChargeSmart

Discover is offering an instant rebate to customers who pay their utility bills using a Discover Card on ChargeSmart's website. Link

Check Point Software Technologies

Check Point enhanced its Software Blade Architecture by releasing R75.20, a comprehensive approach to security that includes a URL filtering Software Blade, SSL inspection, and data loss prevention. Link
The Wall Street Journal discussed Check Point's ZoneAlarm SocialGuard that helps parents protect children on Facebook in a non-intrusive manner. Link

Clairmail

Clairmail announced record growth this quarter, with more than a 60% increase in bookings from last quarter. Link

Clovr Media

BostInnovation stated that Clovr Media is changing the way consumers collect loyalty rewards through its Card-Linked Ads that allow consumers to access rewards by clicking on an advertisement. Link
Mass High Tech's weekly Startup Watch listed Clovr Media as one of five startups to follow. Link

Credit.com

EQuicknews listed Credit.com as a free way to check your credit score with no strings attached and highlighed the Credit Report Card feature. Link

doxo

The Appvita blog profiled doxo, noting insider tips and practical uses, such as comparing bills on a month-to-month basis. Link

Dwolla

Bank Technology News looked at the players in the mobile payments space and listed Dwolla as a formidable competitor. Link

EDO Interactive

EDO Interactive received $20 million in Series B funding to grow its Prewards platform that enables advertisers to offer digital deals and incentives that consumers redeem by using their existing credit, debit, or prepaid cards. Link

eToro

eToro began a trading contest for users with both demo and live trading accounts. Traders who accumulate the greatest gains will win each round. Link

eWise

eWise added Renasant Bank to its customer base, providing Renasant customers access to Secure Vault Payments, an alternative payment method. Link

Expensify

Expensify added a new feature that provides QuickBooks users a way to easily identify billable expenses to add to invoices. Link
The Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal listed Expensify as one of ten business apps for empowering your inner geek. Link

Kony Solutions

Tower Group, in its Review of North American Consumer Mobile Banking Technology Vendors, ranked Kony Solutions among the top mobile banking technology vendors. Kony excelled in the feature/function and customization categories. Link

Lending Club

TechCrunch highlighted Lending Club's announcement of $25 million in Series D financing from Union Square Ventures and other existing investors. Link

Lendio

Lendio added Cardinal Bank to its network of lenders providing clients with more options in finding equipment loans, business lines of credit, acquisition financing, commercial real estate, SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans. Link

Mitek Systems

Mitek Systems launched Mobile Imaging Cloud Service that captures, extracts, and routes information contained in documents. The service helps app developers create smartphone and tablet apps that use a camera input function. Link

Monitise

Monitise Asia Pacific launched its mobile banking, payments, and commerce services in Indonesia and signed a joint venture agreement with PT Astra Graphia Information Technology, an information and communication business. Link

On Deck Capital

On Deck Capital raised $19 million of its own in a Series C round of funding. Link

RobotDough

RobotDough founder, Wilton Risenhoover, revealed why he started RobotDough and how it works. Link

SafetyPay

SafetyPay received a Payment Services Directive License to provide cross-border payments throughout Europe strengthening its position in that market. Link

SecondMarket

BostInnovation used SecondMarket's alternative investments platform to discover top Boston companies. Link

Striata

Baton Rouge Water Company selected Striata, along with payment services company Western Union, to provide email billing with integrated electronic payment service. Link

The Receivables Exchange

Treasury & Risk profiled The Receivables Exchange, describing the process companies use to sell their receivables on the online platform. Link

TradeKing

TradeKing launched a $100 bonus for new customers who open an account by August 31, 2011. Link

Wonga

Smarta interviewed Wonga director, John Moorwood, about Wonga's growth over the past 12 months. Wonga is now issuing over 1.5 million short-term loans. Link

Xero

Xero released Xero Touch, its new accounting app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Link

Alumni News -- Week of July 25, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on August 1, 2011 2:58 PM

Clairmail

Clairmail chose Jigsaw's Data Cloud to help its mobile banking client improve marketing and receive more leads. During vendor trials it saw an increase in productivity, response rates, sales, and marketing effectiveness. Link

Clovr Media

Boston Business Journal reported that Clovr Media is preparing for the launch of its credit

card-linked offers at the end of the fourth quarter by hiring 12 new staff members. Link

Confident Technologies

Confident Technologies released a two-factor mobile phone authentication platform that requires the user to memorize images. Because this second factor security is not stored on the user's device, it mitigates the opportunity for Zeus-in-the-middle attacks. Link

Currensee

The Forbes blog looks at Currensee for social foreign exchange investing, paying special attention to its rapid growth rate. Link

doxo

The Entrepreneur blog compared doxo's document storage and online payment system to PayPal, citing that the cost to collect payment is less than half of a typical PayPal transaction. Link

Dynamics

The Pittsburgh Business Times interviewed Jeff Mullen, CEO of Dynamics, Inc on the naming of the company. Link

eToro

The Forbes blog looked at eToro for social foreign exchange investing, paying special attention to its rapid growth rate. Link
The World Finance Awards selected eToro as Best Social Trading Network, Best Mobile Trading Platform, and Best Trading Software Provider. Link

Geezeo

Geezeo was selected by The Coca-Cola Family Credit Union to provide a PFM solution and integrated marketing platform. Link

Ideon Financial Solutions

Ideon Financial Solutions was granted a patent for its Choice Savings technology, a system that allows financial institutions to provide their clients with a variety of customizable savings products. Link

Identity Theft 911

Identity Theft 911 partnered with Arabella Protection Insurance Company to offer commercial data breach services like preparedness and response. Link

Intuit

TechCrunch reported that Intuit launched a QuickBooks mobile app for the Android that

allows small businesses to access their data from QuickBooks Pro, Online, and Premier. Link

Lending Club

American Consumer News provided a comparison guide for borrowers and lenders to Prosper's and Lending Club's services. The benefits included high rates of return and flexibility. Link
Brian Wong's Database blog looked at what its like to invest in Lending Club. He presented his opinion on the usability of the service. Link

Metavante

EverBank, a $7 billion Internet bank, announced that it is seeking to be an early adopter of Metavante's customer information management product, a product that was built from the Temenos Core Banking Platform, a result of the partnership formed in 2007. Link

mFoundry

NEFCU added a mobile app for the Android, using mFoundry's technology to offer account balances, check history, transfers, and bill pay. This is in addition to its existing apps for Blackberry and the iPhone. Link

Micronotes

1st Advantage Federal Credit Union, a major Virginia credit union, announced that it will use

Micronotes' cross-sell engine, KulaX, to improve lead generation. Link

Prosper

American Consumer News provided a comparison guide for borrowers and lenders to Prosper's and Lending Club's services. The benefits included high rates of return and flexibility. Link

Syphr

Syphr was among 6 out of 90 fintech companies selected by the Fintech Innovation Lab who will present their innovations to Wall Street venture capitalists. Link

Alumni News -- Week of July 18, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on July 25, 2011 12:06 PM

ChargeSmart

AOL's Daily Finance highlighted Chargesmart's secondary gift card market that allows

consumers to pay for bills in exchange for gift cards. Link

CheckFree

Family Wealth Report stated that CheckFree is leading the way in UMA processing. Link

Credit Karma

CBS Money Watch discussed Credit Karma's data on America's debt. Link
Fox Business News listed Credit Karma's credit score simulator tool as a 15-minute fix for your credit score. Link

doxo

Practical Ecommerce listed doxo as one of 17 apps for productivity. Link

Dwolla

Dwolla hit $1 million in payments per day and Ben Milne, CEO, shared a sneak peak of future plans. Link
Ace Community Credit Union provided customers with access to Dwolla through its site.
Dwolla CEO Ben Milne explained why starting a business in Iowa isn't hard. Link
Dwolla introduced a new Autoload feature. Link
Dwolla was listed on The Next Web as one of eight awesome ways to pay with your phone. Link

eToro

eToro Partners began testing a new foreign exchange affiliate tool called Custom Links. Link

Expensify

The Info.rmatics blog testified to Expensify's ease of use. Link
ipCommerce showcased Expensify's innovation. Link

GoalMine

Mango Money added GoalMine to its list of services. Link

HelpMyCash

HelpMyCash revamped its website to be more consumer-friendly. Link

IDTheft 911

Barnstable County Mutual Insurance Company selected Identity Theft 911 for its LifeStages service. Link

iPay Technologies

TechCrunch reported that Bill Ready, former President of iPay Technologies, joined Accel Partners as an Executive in Residence. Link

Lending Club

ATM Options discussed seven good reasons to invest through Lending Club. Link
Netbanker discussed Lending Club's record high growth. Link

Lendio

Lendio added TAB Bank to its network of lenders. Link
Reuters reported that Swift Capital and Lendio partnered to help small businesses. Link

mFoundry

American Banker considered Bank of America's recent investment in mFoundry. Link
Credit Union Journal discussed Colombia Credit Union's adoption of mFoundry's mobile banking. Link

Mint.com

Mint.com introduced a manual transactions feature for its iPhone app. Link
TechCrunch reported Mint.com's debut of a new feature that tracks bills and sends reminders. Link

Monitise

Monitise signed over 6,000 users in Nigeria to a mobile payments trial. Link
TechMarketView discussed Monitise's financial success. Link

peerTransfer

Yahoo! Finance reported peerTransfer's growth in international student payment processing. Link

Prosper

Netbanker discussed Prosper's record high growth. Link
Prosper raised its interest rates by 2.5 percent. Link

SmartyPig

SmartyPig introduced its back-to-school cash giveaway contest. Link

ThreatMetrix

ThreatMetrix announced its upcoming user conference October 9th through 10th. Link

TradeKing

TradeKing launched a new video series to help consumers understand options trading. Link

Tyfone

Oregonlive.com described Tyfone as a major player in mobile payments. Link

Wikinvest

Forex Promos shared an interview with Mike Sha, Wikinvest CEO. Link

Xero

Reuters reported that Xero agreed to acquire Paycycle, a payroll company. Link

Zecco

Wealth Building Tips and Strategies blog shared Zecco's options trading video series. Link

ZimpleMoney

ZimpleMoney adjusted its services in response to the Dodd-Frank reform. Link

Alumni News -- Week of July 11, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on July 18, 2011 11:38 AM

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

_________________________________________________________________________

In other Alumni News:

Aptys Solutions

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

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

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

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

PayPal and Cortera Take Charge in May's Web Traffic

By Julie Schicktanz on July 7, 2011 2:07 PM

Each month we survey the Web-traffic performance of our alums, using data from Web-analytics company Compete to review the sites they operate.

Out of 255 alumni, 62 (24%) had more than 10,000 unique U.S. visitors in May 2011 (see tables below). Of the 62 reviewed, 25 (40%) had fewer visitors than in the previous month and 28 (45%) saw a decline year-over-year.

Private Companies
The 44 private companies are as follows:

Notable successes:

Cortera saw the highest number of unique U.S. visitors in May, with almost 2 million hits.
HelloWallet experienced the greatest month-over-month growth, with more than four times as many visitors.
Betterment saw its traffic increase an impressive 38 times from May of last year.

Private Finovate Alumni With More Than 10,000 Unique Visitors in May 2011

Source: Compete.com retrieved June 29, 2011

Public Companies
The 18 public companies are as follows:

Notable successes:

PayPal experienced the highest number of U.S. visitors in May, with over 32 million visitors.
TransUnion Interactive saw the highest month-over-month growth with more than two times the number of visitors in May than in April.
Sybase 365 experienced the highest year-over-year growth, with its traffic up almost 80% from last year.

Public Finovate Alumni With More Than 10,000 Unique Visitors in May 2011

Source: Compete.com retrieved June 29, 2011

_____________________________________________________________________________

Notes:

1. We reviewed 255 unique sites. Data was unavailable or irrelevant for 201 sites because:

They had been acquired.
They were no longer available online.
They were not covered by Compete for various reasons (including some that were not U.S. domestic companies).
The number of unique visits was too small to be considered accurate.
They were subdomains of larger websites.

2. Numbers have been rounded to three significant digits.

3. The charts include companies that did not have measurable traffic in May 2011, indicated by "N/A."

4. Compete draws its information from the online activity of a panel of more than 2 million U.S. Internet users. It is only an estimate of traffic, and may undercount at-work usage.

Alumni News-- Week of June 20, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on June 27, 2011 10:11 AM

AlphaClone

AlphaClone launched a new feature that measures sentiment. Link

BillFLO

Taulia acquired BillFLO. Link

Bills.com

Bills.com shared money-saving strategies for recent college graduates. Link

BrightScope

BrightScope was highlighted on the Tuscon NBC news channel series, "4 Your Money." Link

CashEdge

Ally Bank began offering CashEdge's Popmoney service. Link

Continuity Control

LEVERAGE, the Service Corporation for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, began offering Continuity Control's CreditUnion Assistant program. Link

CreditKarma

Credit Karma introduced its Approval Odds service to help avoid being declined for a card. Link

Currensee

Currensee reached $6 billion in trading volume and $12 million under management. Link

doxo

The MakeUseOf blog reviewed doxo's online filing cabinet. Link

Dwolla

Dwolla CEO commented on the Bitcoin virtual currency debate, exchange, and hysteria. Link
Dwolla's fees were compared to PayPal's. Link
Silicon Prairie News discussed Dwolla CEO's comments on Bitcoin. Link

eWise

eWise Payo's smartphone app won the Editor's Award for Consumer Focus at the 2011 Cards International Awards. Link

Expensify

The Dallas News highlighted Expensify. Link
Expensify was listed as one of 25 tools to help you manage spending by cmvlive.com Link

HelloWallet

HelloWallet posted a short video series explaining its wealth-tracking service. Link

Jwaala

KEMBA Financial Credit Union implemented Jwaala's platform. Link

Lending Club

Lending Club is approaching its financial breakeven point. Link
Reuters commented on Lending Club's P2P marketplace. Link

Lendio

Lendio helped banks increase business loans by finding qualified borrowers. Link

Mortgagebot

Mortgagebot and Business Solutions extended their Tech Alliance to provide mortgage application solutions at preferred terms. Link

PayNearMe

PayNearMe facilitated 7-Eleven's partnership with Greyhound for cash transactions. Link

Prosper

Reuters commented on Prosper's P2P marketplace. Link

Receivables Exchange

The Receivables Exchange won 2011 "Management Team of the Year" at the Stevie Awards. Link

Strands

Strands Personal Finance landed in the 2011 Red Herring Top 100 North America list. Link

TradeKing

TradeKing announced its free webinar series on trading advice beginning July 12th. Link

Voice Commerce

Voice Commerce launched its CashFlows app. Link

Xero

Getapp.com reviewed Xero's cloud-based software. Link

Alumni News -- Week of June 13, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on June 20, 2011 11:09 AM

AcceptEmail

AcceptEmail partnered with WorldPay to launch an e-billing and online payment service. Link

Balance

GeekWire interviewed Balance Financial CEO, Devin Miller. Link

BancVue

BancVue executives won Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Link

BankOns

Examiner.com referred to BankOns as the new GroupOn. Link

BillShrink

BillShrink was featured in The New York Times. Link

BrightScope

Forbes reported on BrightScope's list of exchange-traded funds held in America's 401k plans. Link

CheckFree

CheckFree expanded its functionality to support account-to-account and peer-to-peer transfers. Link

Clairmail

Clairmail joined the RSA Secured Partner Program to provide secure access to mobile banking. Link

doxo

doxo CEO explained paperless billing in a video interview, highlighting the mobile app. Link
doxo was featured on the Top Productivity Apps website. Link
Northwest Innovation reviewed doxo's mobile app. Link

Dwolla

TechCrunch reported that Dwolla hit a milestone of $1M in transactions per week. Link

Enloop

Business News Daily interviewed Enloop CEO, Cynthia McCahon, about creating a "living business plan". Link
Huffington Post spotlighted Enloop. Link

eRollover

eRollover launched an online solution for financial advisors to grow practices. Link

eWise

eWise announced its partnership with Affirmative Technologies to speed the adoption of alternative payment methods. Link

Kiboo

Kiboo launched a public site called "Know Your Money". Link

Lending Club

Lending Club posted a video of their five-word acceptance speech at the Webby Awards. Link
The Wall Street Journal noted Lending Club as leading the way in P2P lending. Link

mFoundry

mFoundry helped Starbucks build an app for Android. Link
mFoundry passed the 400 customer milestone. Link

Mitek

Mitek's mobile check deposit was cited as the number one feature that would cause you to switch banks. Link

Monitise

ComputerWeekly discussed the survey Monitise conducted on mobile banking. Link
Forbes discussed Monitises' deal with Visa. Link

peerTransfer

peerTransfer is hosting a free webinar on international student payment processing this Wednesday, June 22. Link
peerTransfer won the Innovation Award from Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange. Link

Prosper

Prosper announced that it is giving away an iPad2 to new investors. Link
The Wall Street Journal noted Prosper as leading the way in P2P lending. Link

SafetyPay

SafetyPay was selected by BorderJump as its preferred payment solution for cross border transactions. Link

SmartyPig

Fox Business News suggested using SmartyPig.com as a tool to help "pump up" savings. Link

Tagit

Tagit helped Commonwealth Bank launch its first mobile app. Link

ThreatMetrix

ThreatMetrix announced its cloud-based fraud prevention platform. Link
ThreatMetrix launched "ThreatMetrix Fraud Facts," a free downloadable report. Link

Tyfone

Tyfone was awarded an NFC over-the-air and over-the-wire seminal patent. Link
American Banker reviewed Tyfone's mobile payment patent. Link
NFC Rumors looked at how Tyfone uses SD cards to enable NFC transactions. Link

Alumni News -- Week of May 30, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on June 6, 2011 9:00 AM

Betterment

Medill Reports discussed the benefits of Betterment and Currensee, claiming that the social networking craze changes the way some people invest. Link

BrightScope

BrightScope announced the top 10 treasury inflation protected securities funds in America's 401ks. Link

ChargeSmart

Fox News' Studio 10 reviewed ChargeSmart, PlasticJungle, and Bills.com and found a number of money saving tools and ideas. Link

Check Point Software Technologies

Check Point Software Technologies won The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2011 Award from The Association of Support Professionals for its exceptional web support design, implementation, and customer experience. Link

ClairMail

ClairMail announced record customer expansion with a 300% year-over-year growth in users. Link

Corduro

The New York Times reported that Corduro's cloud platform challenges PayPal and Square's mobile payment services. Link

Credit Sesame

The Wisdom Journal depicted Credit Sesame's services as more than just credit scores. Link

Currensee

See Betterment above.

doxo

doxo explained how to use its online filing cabinet and "due date" alerts to help organize GroupOn, Living Social, and other daily deals. Link
TheFinancialBrand.com discussed Oregon Federal Credit Union's use of doxo and discussed other usage ideas such as uploading a scan of your passport prior to travelling. Link

Dwolla

Credit Union Times listed Dwolla as a contender in the P2P payment space. Link
Dwolla rallied community efforts to gather donations for the tornado-stricken town of Joplin by selling its t-shirts and accepting donations. Link
Omaha World-Herald covered Dwolla's arrival into Nebraska. Link

Enloop

About.com highlighted Enloop's business plan creation service. Link
Forbes blog discussed "How Not to Fail" by using Enloop to assess the potential success of a business plan. Link

Geezeo

Call Federal Credit Union, based in Richmond, VA, selected Geezeo for its PFM solution. Link

Guardian Analytics

Guardian Analytics positioned by Gartner in the "Visionary" quadrant for web fraud detection. Link

HelloWallet

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom urged residents to improve their money management by using HelloWallet. For every five subscriptions purchased, HelloWallet will give away one subscription to a family in need. Link

Hidden Levers

Financial Advisor Blog discussed using Hidden Levers to build better portfolios, highlighting risk management and accuracy of the service. Link

Lending Club

Lending Club exceeded a quarter million dollars in cumulative loans and is offering cash bonuses. Link
Wall Street Journal blog discussed growth of P2P Lending sites Prosper and Lending Club. Link

Lendio

Lendio raised $2 million in debt financing. Link

PayNearMe

PayNearMe founder Danny Shader, in an interview with Vator News, revealed the service is used beyond the unbanked population, including teens who prefer to pay with cash and consumers who would like to keep their online transactions private. Link

Prosper

See Lending Club above.

RobotDough

Dow Jones Financial reports that a UCLA professor backed RobotDough. Link

SecondMarket

The Washington Business Journal discussed SecondMarket's recent popularity. Link

Sybase

Sybase launched the M-Commerce Guide, a publication for examining global market opportunities for mobile network operators, advisors, and FIs. Link

TradeKing

TradeKing CIO Dan Raju discussed security issues that may arise with the NYSE cloud community, citing its security. Link

Tyfone

Tyfone contracted with Star One Credit Union to use its NFC technology. Link

UBank

CEO of UBank examined security concerns and competitors during an interview with ZDNet. Link

Alumni News -- Week of May 23, 2011

By Julie Schicktanz on May 31, 2011 12:18 PM

Aptys Solutions
Aptys Solutions signed with Banker's Bank, a top check depositor with the Federal Reserve Link

Backbase
Backbase to host webinar on how to use social media in financial services Link

Betterment

Betterment announced a growth of over $10M under management and over 4000 customers in first year Link
Betterment celebrated its first birthday Link

Bill.com
Bill.com is working to improve its mobile offering for small and midsized businesses Link

Boku
Mobile Entertainment explained how Boku will revolutionize pay-by-mobile for digital goods Link

Capital Access Network
CNBC explained how Capital Access Network solves the need to use financial creativity Link

Credit Karma
WiseBread Blog interviewed Credit Karma CEO Link

doxo

doxo's first fan video was posted online Link
Oregon employees were the first to give its members doxo's online file cabinet Link
TechFlash highlighted the benefits of using doxo to achieve paperless business Link
2Minute Finance interviewed doxo at FinovateSpring Link

Dwolla

Dwolla was listed by inc Tech as one of three startups you must know from Big Omaha Link
Credit Union Times listed Dwolla as a new P2P service rivaling 'bank giants' Link

edo Interactive
MyBankTracker interviewed edo Interactive COO about its Prewards service Link

Expensify
Slate explained how Expensify will help the 'frequent flier' Link

Kabbage
Technorati described how Kabbage works with eBay Link

Lending Club

Mint.com's blog covered what you need to know about Lending Club Link
San Francisco Business Times commented on Lending Club's strong backing from both investors and lenders Link
San Francisco Times reported that Lending Club stated it is not planning to go public for several years Link

LendingKarma
Entrepreneur featured LendingKarma as a good tool to use when borrowing money from family or friends Link

Lendio
San Francisco Chronicle reported that Lendio offers funding opportunities for new grads Link

Lodo Software
Lodo Software was described as a startup providing jobs in the "Silicon Prairie" region, a.k.a. Omaha Link

Monitise
Monitise released a report predicting that the majority of consumers will use mobile money services within the next three years Link

Mortgagebot
Mortgagebot reached 1000 clients, one of its goals from the beginning Link

PayDivvy
2MinuteFinanced interviewed PayDivvy about its services Link

PayNearMe
BillShrink examined PayNearMe's cash payment service Link

peerTransfer
Mass High Tech interviewed Iker Marcaide from peerTransfer about becoming an entrepreneur Link

ProfitStars
ProfitStars announced a new version of Margin Maximizer that's now available as a hosted solution Link

Robot Dough
2MiniuteFinance toured RobotDough's demo during interview at Finovate Spring Link

SecondMarket

Wall Street Journal stated that SecondMarket helped fuel the tech boom Link
CNBC interviewed SecondMarket for an explanation of the change in trading numbers Link and Link

Smarty Pig
Smarty Pig launched new sharing features, including activity sharing and goal sharing Link

Striata
Striata will host a June 2 webinar for implementing successful ebilling strategies Link

ThreatMetrix
San Francisco Chronicle covered ThreatMetrix's research around mobile transaction activity Link

TILE Financial
TILE Financial released a Financial Identity Profile to strengthen the connection between advisors and under-30 consumers Link

TradeKing
TradeKing divulged the lineup of its free webinars in June Link

Tyfone
Tyfone won 2010 Asia Pacific Smart Card Association Award for its NFC innovation and implementation Link

Wikinvest
Dow Jones Advisor highlighted Wikinvest as a way to analyze portfolios Link

Wonga

Wonga won 2011 Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award for exceptional accomplishments Link
Wonga won the Media Momentum Awards, a coveted award for digital media companies in Europe Link
Wonga's Errol Damelin discussed consumer-centric credit Link

Xero

Diversity Limited commented on Xero's move to the US markets Link
Xero and Keebo teamed up to help you manage and process receipts Link
New Zealand Herald commented on Xero's surging revenue Link

Zecco

The Wall Street Journal reviewed Zecco's new Facebook app Link
Zecco launched an app for stock trades & viewing realtime market data on Facebook Link

Zopa
Zopa shows how it helps consumers protect against inflation Link

Alumni News: Week of May 2 and May 9

By Julie Schicktanz on May 16, 2011 11:38 AM

Backbase
Backbase will provide TCS Bank in Russia with a website integration solution through Bank 2.0 Portal. Link

Bill.com
Bill.com rolled out Sage Peachtree Sync, software for controlling bill payment and management. Link

BrightScope
BrightScope released its second annual list of the Atlanta-based companies with the best 401k plans. Link

CashEdge
CashEdge expanded Popmoney service by adding Popmoney for Prepaid. It also announced a partnership with TxVia. Link

Check Point Software Technologies

Check Point was listed on Acadian Asset Management's Top 15 Buys list. Link

Cortera

Cortera announced a new version of its PULSE app, a customer monitoring service. The new version will add Growth Clues alert. Link

DebtGoal

DebtGoal hired Igor Vaks, former Experian CIO, as new COO. Link

eToro

eToro emerged as the preferred platform for building forex wealth through web trading. Link

Expensify

Expensify advertised on giant billboard in the Bay Area. Link

Fiserv

Fiserv announced improvements to its Relationship Rewards. Link

ID Analytics

CoreLogic partnered with ID Analytics to integrate ID Network with LoanSafe Fraud Manager. Link

ID Analytics will host Advance 2011, its 9th Consumer Risk Management Conference, this September. Link

IP Commerce

IP Commerce recently raised another round of funding. Link

Lending Club

Lending Club issued a record high of $17.5M loans in April. It is the 4th record month in the past 5. Link

Lending Club won Webby Award for the Banking/ Bill Paying category. Link

Mint

Mint won Webby Awards for the Financial Services category. Link

MoneyAisle

MoneyAisle launched live auctions for unsecured personal loans to help consumers across a wide range of credit scores. Link

PayNearMe

PayNearMe raised $16M in funding from new and current investors. Link

Plastyc

Plastyc won a patent for improved online payment methods. Link

Prosper

Prosper increased loan volume by more than 50% compared to 3 months ago, issuing over $5M in new loans in April. Link

Yodlee

Yodlee is looking into developing mobile apps with new "FinApp Store" strategy. Link

Alumni Updates -- Week of April 18, 2011

By Jessica Ward on April 25, 2011 4:07 PM

To follow updates from Finovate alumni companies in real time, be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Backbase extends content services offerings. Backbase CMS is available as an add-on module. http://bit.ly/finovate420112

BancVue launched "Money Island," an educational game for children to be offered by banks and financial institutions. https://demo.moneyisland.com/

BillFloat partners with Online Resources to offer small-dollar loans to biller clients. Online Resources will now offer BillFloat as a payment option. http://bit.ly/finovate418112

Doxo signs Oregon Federal Employees Credit Union (OFECU). Members will be able to receive statements and banking documents via the service. http://bit.ly/finovate421111

Dwolla will provide an online payments option at Tikly, an online ticketing startup expected to launch within the next thirty days. http://bit.ly/finovate418113

eToro surpasses 1.5 million users. The company cites the growth of thousands of members joining per day since the launch of eToro's social platform, OpenBook. http://prn.to/finovate421113

PayPal and Discover partner on person-to-person payments. Rollout begins this week for Discover's person-to-person payments system. http://bit.ly/finovate42112

Several Finovate Alumni firms have been nominated for Webby awards. Good luck to Lending Club, Mint, Billeo and Kashoo. http://bit.ly/finovate420116

SmartyPig eliminates redemption fees. Transferring SmartyPig savings account funds to a retailer gift card is now free. http://bit.ly/finovate418111

Yodlee partners with Boursorama to provide Money Center service. Boursorama customers will receive the Money Center PFM service free of charge. http://bit.ly/finovate420115

Alumni News, Weeks of February 21st and February 28th, 2011

By Jessica Ward on March 8, 2011 9:51 AM

To see our alumni news feed in real time, visit us on Twitter.

Bank of Internet will use Intuit's FinanceWorks. http://mwne.ws/finovate2241

Betterment reduces fees on retirement accounts. http://bit.ly/finovate224114

Service enhancements at Bill.com. Clone invoices ease automated payments. http://bit.ly/finovate224112

eToro completes $8.3 million funding round led by Spark Capital. eToro has 1.5 million users in 130 countries worldwide. http://bit.ly/f1G99d

eToro launches new user tools, and deposit bonuses. New eToro users can get a bonus of up to $500 to try Forex trading. http://bit.ly/finovate34112

eWise is moving to Denver. The company processes electronic payments and is moving to attract employees. http://bit.ly/finovate22311

Fiserv acquires M-Com to enhance mobile banking and payments capabilities. http://bit.ly/finovate34117

Kiboo got a makeover. The new interface focuses on usability and design. http://bit.ly/finovate34111

Lending Club exceeds $200 million in cumulative peer-to-peer loans. The combined Lending Club and Prosper volume is now approaching the half-billion dollar mark. http://bit.ly/finovate34118

Lodo Software signs thirty more banks for its OurCashFlow PFM platform. http://bit.ly/finovate34113

MiiCard featured as Microsoft's Startup of the Day. http://bit.ly/finovate224113

Outright.com has a new blog. http://bit.ly/finovate34115

Striata adds Iconix Truemark sender recognition technology to electronic communications. The system adds branded visual identity to help identify genuine emails from financial institutions. http://bit.ly/finovate34116

Alumni News -- Weeks of January 24, 31, and February 7, 2011

By Jessica Ward on February 15, 2011 5:08 PM

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/finovate28111 http://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

Alumni News -- Week of January 9, 2011

By Jessica Ward on January 17, 2011 9:58 AM

To see Finovate alumni company news in real-time, follow our feed on Twitter here.

Backbase is holding an engagement banking seminar on January 27. -- Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. http://bit.ly/finovate114111

Blippy has been nominated for a Crunchie award. -- The awards, given in a number of startup categories, are a joint effort by three tech blogs: TechCrunch. VentureBeat and GigaOM. http://tcrn.ch/finovate113114

FeeFighters (formerly TransFS) has raised an additional $1.6 million in funding. -- FeeFighters helps businesses comparison shop for credit card processing services. http://tcrn.ch/finovate113112

Fifth Third Bank will offer Popmoney from CashEdge. -- Popmoney, an e-mail based money transfer system, will be available to Fifth Third customers in mid-2011. http://bit.ly/finovate110113

Firstmark Credit Union selects Geezeo for PFM platform. -- The credit union, with 90,000 members with $700 million in assets, will use Geezeo's white label platform . http://bit.ly/finovate1101

iBearSoft releases Money 5.0 mobile app. -- The new release includes several speedups and new features. http://bit.ly/finovate1112

Jwalla offers free trials of the Better Online Banking (BOB) platform for credit unions. -- The trial platform can be launched within two days of the request and allows prospective clients to see all of the available features. http://bit.ly/finovate113113

Kabbage raises an additional $6.5 million to support its loan business targeted to eBay and other online sellers. -- This round was led by BlueRun Ventures and UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund. http://tcrn.ch/finovate113111

Kashoo users get a 30% discount on electronic tax filing with eSmart Tax. http://bit.ly/finovate114112

PerkStreet and Lending Club offer cash prizes for creatively shredding credit cards. http://bit.ly/finovate111113 or shredyourcreditcard.com

Plastyc and eBillMe launch a new banking system for self-employed users. -- The platform allows users to receive clients' electronic payments directly. http://bit.ly/finovate112112

SafetyPay signs deal with Brazil's Banrisul. -- This will allow Banrisul Bank's three million customers to make purchases in their own currency by way of SafetyPay's service. http://bit.ly/finovate111111

SmartyPig launches its first iPhone app. -- Users can add to their savings, manage goals and even contribute to another user's goal. The app also includes a location-based tool to find participating merchants. An Android app is planned for February. http://bit.ly/finovate110112

Tyfone receives a fourth patent for mobile e-wallet technology. -- This newest patent, is entitled, "Asymmetric cryptography with user authentication." http://bit.ly/finovate112111

The Mii card, powered by Yodlee, becomes a digital passport for online authentication. -- See the Mii card in Action at FinovateEurope. http://www.miicard.com/

Alumni News -- Week of January 2, 2011

By Jessica Ward on January 10, 2011 4:33 AM

To see updates on Finovate alumni companies follow our live feed on Twitter.

Finovate alums Blippy and Expensify land on Robert Scoble's list of 25 startups to watch for 2011. http://scoble.it/finovate13114

Credit Karma now offers free insurance scoring tools in addition to free credit scores. http://bit.ly/finovate13113

Expensify launches iPhone/iPod app version 2.6. - The upgrade includes support for 100 currencies. http://bit.ly/finovate14114

Lending Club mentioned in CNN Living - Borrowing from the family bank? http://bit.ly/finovate13112

Prosper alters the way its loan prices are set, switches to preset loan rates based on risk profile. http://bit.ly/finovate14113

Alumni News -- Week of December 29, 2010

By Jessica Ward on January 3, 2011 5:25 PM

To see updates on Finovate alumni companies follow our live feed on Twitter.

Bill.com now offers receivable tracking. -- The new module, still in Beta, allows users to invoice, and track receivables and even receive payments electronically. http://bit.ly/finovate12282

Check out the new branding at Bancvue's Kasasa. -- The company has implemented a new, edgier corporate identity, to better blend with the slam-poetry marketing campaign. http://bit.ly/finovate12283

Expensify unveiled a new reporting system. http://tcrn.ch/finovate12292

Kapitall launches new tools for 2011. -- New features include dynamic lists of what's hot, the most popular trades, and watch lists in every sector. http://bit.ly/finovate12302

Mint.com goes to school with a new, free financial curriculum for middle schools. -- The program, a partnership with Scholastic, will be expanded to 30,000 schools in early 2011. http://tcrn.ch/finovate12281

See Lending Club's list of top 100 financial micro-bloggers. http://bit.ly/finovate12284

Congratulations Lending Club on reaching $200 million in funded loans. http://bit.ly/finovate12301

TechCrunch explains why the SEC need not tighten regulation of SecondMarket and other secondary market trading sites. http://tcrn.ch/finovate12303

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