Finovate promises 56, seven-minute demos over the two-day conference. We are covering those we find interesting. And at the end of the conference, we’ll offer our vote for the best of the conference. For more details on how we’ll do that, see this post.
A special thanks to my colleague,
Mary Wisniewski, for grading the Day Two demos.
Jim Bruene, editor of Netbanker, says that financial technology is at a “tipping point.” We agree wholeheartedly. Some of those “tipping” technologies:
Credit Sesame
Credit Sesame offers what I’ll call reverse underwriting for consumers. The site tells consumers which loans are right for them. One of my questions was whether results are skewed toward their “partner” lenders.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – B-
BillShrink
BillShrink, a previous Finovate exhibitor, showed off its new rewards app that integrates retail consumer offers within debit and credit card statements. The technology doesn’t seem too complex, but it certainly seems as though it could drive great value to consumers.
Cool Factor – A-
I Want It Factor – A-
Profit Potential – B
Yodlee
Yodlee 10 seems as though it is on its way to becoming a go-to PFM platform for banks. It looks like V10 advances the notion of the Yodlee platform as a home for apps.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – A
ACE Group
ACE Group offers an exchange for private placements, such as PIPES. The platform seems to create a much better UI for private placement, but ACE’s business model and pricing structure was unclear to me. The site is in invitation-only beta right now.
Cool Factor – C+
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – B
FIS Payments Division
FIS, a banking technology statwart, is offering up a new payments platform. While I couldn’t tell whether the platform offered interoperability between FIs (I didn’t see an export function), you can’t ignore anything FIS does, because of its penetration among traditional banks.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C+
Profit Potential – B
Wonga
Wonga, a digital short-term lending company, released an Android application today to go with its iPhone app. As those Tweeting from Finovate pointed out, the short-term, small-balance loans from Wonga come with phenomenal APRs. But without an understanding of the underwriting criteria, which I didn’t get during the presentation, it was difficult to gauge the startup’s prospects and utility.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – A
Profit Potential – B
Kiboo
Basically a PFM for parents and their children.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – D
BillFloat
Previously known technology. The technology is the same, although the company announced some partnerships with the likes of Credit.com.
Cool Factor – C+
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C+
Sapient – Geezeo
Engagement marketing for banks. Allows banks to “affordably” manage their digital marketing. It was unclear the degree to which the platform can integrate with existing legacy systems nor was the pricing model disclosed.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – C+
Optirate
LendingTree for CDs. The site will launch its consumer service within three months.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C
CashEdge
CashEdge introduced a payments platform for small businesses. The PopMoney for Small Business didn’t seem any better than what most current platforms provide, although the folks doing the demo did have the line of the morning: explaining that they usually wear jeans, but wore instead business attire to Finovate because “we want to dress like regulators instead.”
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C-
Profit Potential – C+
Silver Tail Systems
A money laundering prevention platform, Silver Tail is a payments platform that allows for “collaborative fraud protection” by allowing for the sharing of data among its customers.
Cool Factor – B-
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – B-
TouMetis
Mobile PFM based off Yodlee 10. TouMetris offers a BlackBerry platform, too — along with a less-than-snazzy brand name. As the demo-er said, “Yodlee makes it happen.”
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – C-
Bundle
By aggregating spending data, Bundle tells consumers all sorts of things about their spending, including whether they should spend via a sort of Yelp with a focus on money. Beautiful UI.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – B-
Betterment
The PFM for investing launched a savings function and iPhone app today. The site aims to make it easy to allocate investmnets.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
H&R Block
A big surprise. I was expecting little from this demo, but it had some real flash. H&R Block has built a Tax Center to be incorporated into bank online platforms via Yodlee. Block really thought this through, pitching banks on using the app because of the tax refund deposit volume, which they estimated (emphasis on the “estimated”) at $100 billion current with checks. The app itself seemed extremely useful, speaking as someone who likens tax to — to paraphrase Bill Cosby — pulling one’s lip over one’s head.
Cool Factor – A
I Want It Factor – A
Profit Potential – B
SecureKey
Contactless security tool that requires a “SecureKey” USB fob that costs close to $5 each. The security seems great, but the price …
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – B-
Backbase
Like a skin on top of a banking portal, Backbase transforms dreary bank internet portals into Mint-ish glamour.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – A-
Profit Potential – B
Hidden Levers
Helps consumers analyze economics for investment using What-if scenarios. This demo got extra points for incorporating the adjective “boss.” Remind me when was the last time a consumer wanted to model out a simulated crash of the Japanese Yen.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C-
Profit Potential – D
Kony Solutions
A mobile development platform. The service appears to be little more than an rebranded
Eclispe platform.
Cool Factor – C+
I Want It Factor – C+
Profit Potential – C
Receivables Exchange
Allow for trading of commercial receivables. The startup aims to attack a massively idiosyncratic market, but I could figure out how the exchange protects buyers from sellers, other than a pronouncement that it offers a suite of due diligence features. Specifically, How do you check that the invoices are legit? And is there recourse and what are the disclosures to buyers? Besides all this, I got no sense for how Receivables Exchange will get paid.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – B-
Worklight
Another mobile application development platform.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C
SmartyPig
Introduced and demoed Philantropig today, a platform for charity donations. What this has to do with financial services — other than the “pig” part — I have no idea?
Cool Factor – F
I Want It Factor – F
Profit Potential – C
Kashoo
Online accounting software for small business. It has a nice UI, but with “hundreds” of customers now one year after its launch, which to me means that the product is just not catching on.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – C
10.5 UPDATE — DAY 2
Thwakk Inc.
Twakk wants to appeal to today’s youth and make them financially stronger. To do this, it offers financial education and jazzes it up with 3D simulation-based game play through a web platform. Banks, in turn, can look at the users backend data to get a better sense of how risky a consumer might be. No doubt, we need some more financial education classes, but ultimately, I’m not convinced today’s youth wants to play financial games when there’s Guitar Hero around.
Cool Factor – B-
I Want It Factor: C+
Profit Potential: C-
MortgageBot LLC
MortgageBot made a plug for its “PowerSite Mobile,” which essentially lets consumers shop for mortgages on their phones in an easy-to-look-at way. Certainly, the search results are clean and clear, but practicality is another question. Simplifying shopping is crucial, but how many consumers are searching for mortgage rates while on the go?
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C
Blaze Mobile Wallet
Blaze Mobile lets your phone masquerade as a wallet. By affixing a sticker to the communication device and waving the phone over retailers equipped with the right POS terminals, a good can be purchased. What’s cooler is it also lets users buy items like movie tickets through the phone (and lets you choose what account to pay with) and offers consumers proximity-based coupons. All the while, Blaze tries to tap into its social side, allowing users to share transactions with friends through sites like Facebook. (Not sure how I feel about sharing my expenses with friends, but it’s another easy way to share an event with a friend, for example.) Announced today is Version 2.0. Blaze will be interesting to follow in the coming years.
Cool Factor – A –
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – A –
Dynamics Inc.
Dynamics is making payment cards a little hipper physically and functionality-wise. Basically, the “cooler” cards let users press buttons to determine what kind of payment he is making. And the card lights up. (The demo-er even placed the card in water to show attendees it can survive H20.)
In a partnership with Citi, one particular card aims to make cashing in rewards particularly simple. Consumers can click a bottom on the card to use “rewards,” and click another button on the card to pay using regular credit. The card, along with another one, have been in stealth mode and will open to a wider audience next month.
Cool Factor – A
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential C +
Plantly
Plantly is definitely the winner of the funny presentation award. From the marketing plug: a risk-awareness tool that aims not to suck. In short, Plantly simplifies investing for everyday Americans. Execs say it is broker agnostic.
Cool Factor: A
I Want It Factor: B
Profit Potential: B –
Seeking Alpha
Launch of investment platform applications that allow readers to customize their Seeking Alpha reading experience. Basically, apps travel with the reader while they surf the site. Definitely helpful tool to its reader base. In beta.
Cool Factor: B+
I Want It Factor: B+
Profit Potential: B
PayNearMe
A payment system for the underbanked and unbanked that focuses on teenagers and lets them pay with cash, but they must go to the closest participating retailers to pay the tab. What I like? You don’t need a computer to use the technology, but the payment process seems like it could poise obstacles for users.
Cool Factor – A-
I Want It Factor – B +
Profit Potential – B +
Kapitall
Kapitall wants to make investing visually more stimulating. From the demo, they fulfill that goal’s objective. The technology is easy on the eyes and lets you share portfolio performance with friends. Kapitall just launched an iPad app.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
ActivePath
Allows consumers to transact banking services through email and offers up options to act on particular financial situations like non-sufficient funds notices. Convenient? Very.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – B+
Leadfusion
Leadfusion is busting out of its calculator company reputation and is offering banks a “Guided Selling” tool that aims to make the customer experience more engaging and interactive. Currently, it’s implemented with two beta customers.
Cool Factor: B+
I Want It Factor: B+
Profit Potential: B+
BlingNation
BlingNation wants to give consumers more reasons to tap. Basically, it’s new service shows retailers how “good” their customers are and offers them rewards based on their standing. “Good” is defined by how much business a consumer does with a retailer, for example. Bizarrely, like other Finovate exhibitors, it allows users to share their coupon score on Facebook. With deal sites like Gilt City taking off, this added coupon functionality is a great addition.
Cool Factor: A-
I Want It Factor: B
Profit Potential: B-
Micronotes
Micronotes’ KulaMulaFinApp’s end goal is nothing shy of radically improving online marketing. How? By making coupon offers more relevant. The price structure? Revenue sharing. It’s powered by Yodlee.
Cool Factor: A
I Want It Factor: A
Profit Potential: B+
Pageonce
Previous Finovate exhibitor. Crucial element of a PFM tool is to keep it simple for the user. Pageonce seems to accomplish this with its layout design. Launched the technology for the Windows Mobile 7 today.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
Matchfund.com
Matchfund channels its inner Facebook layout sensibilities to appeal to the teens and tweens and helps them manage money, with assistance from their families. There’s an educational banking element to it, too. The idea is solid, but ubiquity of the tool seems hard to achieve.
Cool Factor – B-
I Want It Factor- B-
Profit Potential – B-
Unience
Unience is a global financial services network that relies on the power of group think. Presenter said he’s ready to bring the service to the U.S.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
MoneyStrands
PFM service that just got a makeover. Cool calendar that details when bills are due.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
Plastyc
Plastyc plugged iBankUp, which wants to create an online banking experience for the unbanked or underbanked. Essentially turns a phone into a virtual checking account. Seems to be a very helpful tool to that market.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
Finovate promises 56, seven-minute demos over the two-day conference. We are covering those we find interesting. And at the end of the conference, we’ll offer our vote for the best of the conference. For more details on how we’ll do that, see this post.
A special thanks to my colleague,
Mary Wisniewski, for grading the Day Two demos.
Jim Bruene, editor of Netbanker, says that financial technology is at a “tipping point.” We agree wholeheartedly. Some of those “tipping” technologies:
Credit Sesame
Credit Sesame offers what I’ll call reverse underwriting for consumers. The site tells consumers which loans are right for them. One of my questions was whether results are skewed toward their “partner” lenders.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – B-
BillShrink
BillShrink, a previous Finovate exhibitor, showed off its new rewards app that integrates retail consumer offers within debit and credit card statements. The technology doesn’t seem too complex, but it certainly seems as though it could drive great value to consumers.
Cool Factor – A-
I Want It Factor – A-
Profit Potential – B
Yodlee
Yodlee 10 seems as though it is on its way to becoming a go-to PFM platform for banks. It looks like V10 advances the notion of the Yodlee platform as a home for apps.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – A
ACE Group
ACE Group offers an exchange for private placements, such as PIPES. The platform seems to create a much better UI for private placement, but ACE’s business model and pricing structure was unclear to me. The site is in invitation-only beta right now.
Cool Factor – C+
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – B
FIS Payments Division
FIS, a banking technology statwart, is offering up a new payments platform. While I couldn’t tell whether the platform offered interoperability between FIs (I didn’t see an export function), you can’t ignore anything FIS does, because of its penetration among traditional banks.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C+
Profit Potential – B
Wonga
Wonga, a digital short-term lending company, released an Android application today to go with its iPhone app. As those Tweeting from Finovate pointed out, the short-term, small-balance loans from Wonga come with phenomenal APRs. But without an understanding of the underwriting criteria, which I didn’t get during the presentation, it was difficult to gauge the startup’s prospects and utility.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – A
Profit Potential – B
Kiboo
Basically a PFM for parents and their children.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – D
BillFloat
Previously known technology. The technology is the same, although the company announced some partnerships with the likes of Credit.com.
Cool Factor – C+
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C+
Sapient – Geezeo
Engagement marketing for banks. Allows banks to “affordably” manage their digital marketing. It was unclear the degree to which the platform can integrate with existing legacy systems nor was the pricing model disclosed.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – C+
Optirate
LendingTree for CDs. The site will launch its consumer service within three months.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C
CashEdge
CashEdge introduced a payments platform for small businesses. The PopMoney for Small Business didn’t seem any better than what most current platforms provide, although the folks doing the demo did have the line of the morning: explaining that they usually wear jeans, but wore instead business attire to Finovate because “we want to dress like regulators instead.”
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C-
Profit Potential – C+
Silver Tail Systems
A money laundering prevention platform, Silver Tail is a payments platform that allows for “collaborative fraud protection” by allowing for the sharing of data among its customers.
Cool Factor – B-
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – B-
TouMetis
Mobile PFM based off Yodlee 10. TouMetris offers a BlackBerry platform, too — along with a less-than-snazzy brand name. As the demo-er said, “Yodlee makes it happen.”
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – C-
Bundle
By aggregating spending data, Bundle tells consumers all sorts of things about their spending, including whether they should spend via a sort of Yelp with a focus on money. Beautiful UI.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – B-
Betterment
The PFM for investing launched a savings function and iPhone app today. The site aims to make it easy to allocate investmnets.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
H&R Block
A big surprise. I was expecting little from this demo, but it had some real flash. H&R Block has built a Tax Center to be incorporated into bank online platforms via Yodlee. Block really thought this through, pitching banks on using the app because of the tax refund deposit volume, which they estimated (emphasis on the “estimated”) at $100 billion current with checks. The app itself seemed extremely useful, speaking as someone who likens tax to — to paraphrase Bill Cosby — pulling one’s lip over one’s head.
Cool Factor – A
I Want It Factor – A
Profit Potential – B
SecureKey
Contactless security tool that requires a “SecureKey” USB fob that costs close to $5 each. The security seems great, but the price …
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – B-
Backbase
Like a skin on top of a banking portal, Backbase transforms dreary bank internet portals into Mint-ish glamour.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – A-
Profit Potential – B
Hidden Levers
Helps consumers analyze economics for investment using What-if scenarios. This demo got extra points for incorporating the adjective “boss.” Remind me when was the last time a consumer wanted to model out a simulated crash of the Japanese Yen.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C-
Profit Potential – D
Kony Solutions
A mobile development platform. The service appears to be little more than an rebranded
Eclispe platform.
Cool Factor – C+
I Want It Factor – C+
Profit Potential – C
Receivables Exchange
Allow for trading of commercial receivables. The startup aims to attack a massively idiosyncratic market, but I could figure out how the exchange protects buyers from sellers, other than a pronouncement that it offers a suite of due diligence features. Specifically, How do you check that the invoices are legit? And is there recourse and what are the disclosures to buyers? Besides all this, I got no sense for how Receivables Exchange will get paid.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B-
Profit Potential – B-
Worklight
Another mobile application development platform.
Cool Factor – C
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C
SmartyPig
Introduced and demoed Philantropig today, a platform for charity donations. What this has to do with financial services — other than the “pig” part — I have no idea?
Cool Factor – F
I Want It Factor – F
Profit Potential – C
Kashoo
Online accounting software for small business. It has a nice UI, but with “hundreds” of customers now one year after its launch, which to me means that the product is just not catching on.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – C
10.5 UPDATE — DAY 2
Thwakk Inc.
Twakk wants to appeal to today’s youth and make them financially stronger. To do this, it offers financial education and jazzes it up with 3D simulation-based game play through a web platform. Banks, in turn, can look at the users backend data to get a better sense of how risky a consumer might be. No doubt, we need some more financial education classes, but ultimately, I’m not convinced today’s youth wants to play financial games when there’s Guitar Hero around.
Cool Factor – B-
I Want It Factor: C+
Profit Potential: C-
MortgageBot LLC
MortgageBot made a plug for its “PowerSite Mobile,” which essentially lets consumers shop for mortgages on their phones in an easy-to-look-at way. Certainly, the search results are clean and clear, but practicality is another question. Simplifying shopping is crucial, but how many consumers are searching for mortgage rates while on the go?
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – C
Profit Potential – C
Blaze Mobile Wallet
Blaze Mobile lets your phone masquerade as a wallet. By affixing a sticker to the communication device and waving the phone over retailers equipped with the right POS terminals, a good can be purchased. What’s cooler is it also lets users buy items like movie tickets through the phone (and lets you choose what account to pay with) and offers consumers proximity-based coupons. All the while, Blaze tries to tap into its social side, allowing users to share transactions with friends through sites like Facebook. (Not sure how I feel about sharing my expenses with friends, but it’s another easy way to share an event with a friend, for example.) Announced today is Version 2.0. Blaze will be interesting to follow in the coming years.
Cool Factor – A –
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – A –
Dynamics Inc.
Dynamics is making payment cards a little hipper physically and functionality-wise. Basically, the “cooler” cards let users press buttons to determine what kind of payment he is making. And the card lights up. (The demo-er even placed the card in water to show attendees it can survive H20.)
In a partnership with Citi, one particular card aims to make cashing in rewards particularly simple. Consumers can click a bottom on the card to use “rewards,” and click another button on the card to pay using regular credit. The card, along with another one, have been in stealth mode and will open to a wider audience next month.
Cool Factor – A
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential C +
Plantly
Plantly is definitely the winner of the funny presentation award. From the marketing plug: a risk-awareness tool that aims not to suck. In short, Plantly simplifies investing for everyday Americans. Execs say it is broker agnostic.
Cool Factor: A
I Want It Factor: B
Profit Potential: B –
Seeking Alpha
Launch of investment platform applications that allow readers to customize their Seeking Alpha reading experience. Basically, apps travel with the reader while they surf the site. Definitely helpful tool to its reader base. In beta.
Cool Factor: B+
I Want It Factor: B+
Profit Potential: B
PayNearMe
A payment system for the underbanked and unbanked that focuses on teenagers and lets them pay with cash, but they must go to the closest participating retailers to pay the tab. What I like? You don’t need a computer to use the technology, but the payment process seems like it could poise obstacles for users.
Cool Factor – A-
I Want It Factor – B +
Profit Potential – B +
Kapitall
Kapitall wants to make investing visually more stimulating. From the demo, they fulfill that goal’s objective. The technology is easy on the eyes and lets you share portfolio performance with friends. Kapitall just launched an iPad app.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
ActivePath
Allows consumers to transact banking services through email and offers up options to act on particular financial situations like non-sufficient funds notices. Convenient? Very.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B+
Profit Potential – B+
Leadfusion
Leadfusion is busting out of its calculator company reputation and is offering banks a “Guided Selling” tool that aims to make the customer experience more engaging and interactive. Currently, it’s implemented with two beta customers.
Cool Factor: B+
I Want It Factor: B+
Profit Potential: B+
BlingNation
BlingNation wants to give consumers more reasons to tap. Basically, it’s new service shows retailers how “good” their customers are and offers them rewards based on their standing. “Good” is defined by how much business a consumer does with a retailer, for example. Bizarrely, like other Finovate exhibitors, it allows users to share their coupon score on Facebook. With deal sites like Gilt City taking off, this added coupon functionality is a great addition.
Cool Factor: A-
I Want It Factor: B
Profit Potential: B-
Micronotes
Micronotes’ KulaMulaFinApp’s end goal is nothing shy of radically improving online marketing. How? By making coupon offers more relevant. The price structure? Revenue sharing. It’s powered by Yodlee.
Cool Factor: A
I Want It Factor: A
Profit Potential: B+
Pageonce
Previous Finovate exhibitor. Crucial element of a PFM tool is to keep it simple for the user. Pageonce seems to accomplish this with its layout design. Launched the technology for the Windows Mobile 7 today.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
Matchfund.com
Matchfund channels its inner Facebook layout sensibilities to appeal to the teens and tweens and helps them manage money, with assistance from their families. There’s an educational banking element to it, too. The idea is solid, but ubiquity of the tool seems hard to achieve.
Cool Factor – B-
I Want It Factor- B-
Profit Potential – B-
Unience
Unience is a global financial services network that relies on the power of group think. Presenter said he’s ready to bring the service to the U.S.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
MoneyStrands
PFM service that just got a makeover. Cool calendar that details when bills are due.
Cool Factor – B
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
Plastyc
Plastyc plugged iBankUp, which wants to create an online banking experience for the unbanked or underbanked. Essentially turns a phone into a virtual checking account. Seems to be a very helpful tool to that market.
Cool Factor – B+
I Want It Factor – B
Profit Potential – B
