There’s a new startup looking to solve a problem in financial services every day — and each week we’re picking three of them for a closer look.
Of the three startups we’re profiling this week, two aim to solve consumer pain points — bill payment and credit card debt — while the third, is a promising API (application programming interface) tool for developers of fintech applications.
ONETHLY looks to simplify bill payments by grouping bills, typically auto-pay bills with predictable amounts, into one payment. The service also provides analytics about payment history and patterns, and alerts to remind customers to keep enough money around to make payments. “Your income is steady, but your expenses aren’t,” the company says. The service is currently piloting in its hometown of Walla Walla, Wash. It is free to consumers, while billers will pay a per-bill fee to ONETHLY.
Mogo Finance Technology is a credit card alternative. Credit cards are payment instruments with a loan attached. Mogo is similar, but its card is prepaid. Its loan application process resembles Lending Club and other marketplace lenders. According to the company, the loans are designed to get consumers out of credit card debt, which happens to be far and away the most common use case of marketplace loans. Mogo’s take is that credit cards make it too easy to spend, so it adds friction to the process, a la Koho, also — coincidentally? — a Canadian company.
Alloy is an API-based authentication service. It appears the company will offer tools for onboarding customers for those building financial services applications. For fintech startups, complying with KYC and AML requirements is no joke, and an API-based leg up sounds like a smart play. The company is advised by a sharp team, Mike Dudas of Button, entrepreneur Charlie Kroll, and Blake Yeager, managing director of TechStars, where the startup was incubated.