Billeo announce some enhancements to their service this morning. They are up to over 6,000 billers, and have additional tools available including a toolbar. Press release here: SANTA CLARA, California – July 16, 2007 – Billeo, Inc. (www.billeo.com), today announced that the company has launched a series of solutions which give consumers unprecedented control and flexibility in online bill payment. Billeo lets you pay virtually any bill online, using any payment method desired, including credit cards and debit cards. If paying by credit card, the average Billeo user can reap over 5,000 additional points per year as part of their … Continue reading Billeo represent an example of dis-aggregated financial services

Paul at Finextra comes up with an interesting evolution that we have been eagerly awaiting;  a Bank (Tesco) aiming to provide price comparisons online. This aligns with what customers expect online, so lets see how far Tesco push it. Royal Bank builds its own glasshouse Interestingly, Tesco Personal Finance is thought to be gearing up to launch an online price comparison service in the autumn. Spokesman Matthew Dransfield confirmed to Finextra that the supermarket bank has registered the domain name tescocompare.com but refused to comment further. Technorati Tags: bank+price+comparisons Continue reading Price comparisons for Banks getting closer

Jim’s comment from his college age neice is perceptive.  Business will always try to stick traditional advertising into new media, and users are likely to generally resist it, unless new ways of approaching users can be developed.  Banner ads need not apply. The Aging of Facebook Makes it a More Appealing Platform for Financial-Services Firms (NetBanker) To her, it’s a privileged place for her friends to communicate: uncles, aunts, and especially parents, are definitely not on the invitation list. It will be interesting to see what happens to the hip kids as the establishment invades their turf. Technorati Tags: marketing, … Continue reading Advertising acceptance in FaceBook | banner ads need not apply

Jim notes the recent stats on Social Networks to draw out that all age groups are involved. I support this view – Banks should increasingly build out for GenX/Y all the while remembering that all generations will use it. Gen X/Y provide the future clues for strategy direction, but don’t assume those valuable boomers are not there too, because they are. The Aging of Facebook Makes it a More Appealing Platform for Financial-Services Firms (NetBanker) Significance for Banks As you consider your social networking strategy, don’t think it’s only for the under-25 crowd. Some of your prime customers, the 30-somethings … Continue reading While GenX/Y lead, Banks should watch their valuable boomer customers

This is another industry shifting change announced by Wesabe here.  While the implementation sounds, and is, technical in nature, the implications are, in my view, profound.  Wheaties for Your Wallet … … as a tool for getting your data out of your banks and credit cards, and into whatever form or program is going to most help you manage your money. Banks and their customers information is proprietary, and Banks have historically owned and treasured that information.  Internet has been all about information becoming free and available.  Open Source is a watchword for internet.  I am typing this blog post … Continue reading Wesabe does it again | “Your bank has a REST API now (shhh! — don’t tell them)”

IBM reflects on the results of the 2007 Wimbledon site, and Second Life space.  They had 8.5 million active users over the two weeks, visiting over 40 million times.  Lots of discussion on technical matters, and how they think about scale, and have moved on from hits per minute and consecutive users.  But I liked this paragraph, and its relevance to marketing/Banking. eightbar » Blog Archive » Wimbledon, that’s a lot of users 8.5 million Things such as the times article reached many people as did the extensive blog coverage by everyone. This approach to reaching people is in itself … Continue reading IBM Wimbledon | “This approach to reaching people is in itself a good lesson”

During the lead up to launch since the announcement earlier this year, the advertising for Apple iPhone has been relatively minimal. This is a strong case for new style marketing handled well. Marketing departments need not apply. Awareness of the product is high, and curiousity about it very high. Yet according to Piper Jaffray, sales of the device are approximately 500K over the weekend. Perhaps this is the best example yet of new marketing. – product quality – brand consistentcy – nurture the market conversation – let the advocates talk it up – deliver on expectations This photo of Patrick … Continue reading iPhone | The power of “word of mouth”

Moneysupermarket.com is planning an IPO, which apparently values the company at $2 Bn. Banknet360 This from the moneysupermarket site. The contents of the Share Offer Pages, which have been prepared and are the sole responsibility of the Company, have been approved by Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited (“Credit Suisse”), One Cabot Square, London E14 4QJ, solely for purposes of section 21(2)(b) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Credit Suisse, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting for the Company and no-one else in connection with the initial public offering … Continue reading Moneysupermarket.com portends a new front in the provision of banking services