Finovate is here, again! Here at the New York edition, Bank Innovation is once again grading demos for their cool factor, I-want-it factor and profit potential on a scale of 1 to 5. Follow along with the audience at #finovate and #finovatenyc on Twitter.

Two gongs sounded during the morning session. Who earned them? Read on!

SEPT. 10, MORNING SESSIONS

Motif Investing

A “motif” is a basket of stocks behind an idea. Motif Investing proposes investing in ideas, not individual stocks. Each transaction costs $9.95, which should represent a savings over traditional financial advisors. Examples of motifs are collections of stocks representing “Chinese Solar” and “Silicon Valley Darlings.” Build your own motif, and get a royalty when others buy it.

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 3
Profit Potential – 3

Backbase

Backbase showed off a new corporate client experience. Retail customers are less profitable to banks, but get all the innovation and sexy UIs. Backbase’s UI, always superb, is now available for corporates. Think of it as a PFM for commercial bankers. The dashboard is completely widgetized and customizable. Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Visa are Backbase customers.

Cool Factor – 4
I Want It – 2
P – 4

SavedPlus

SavedPlus is a startup encouraging savings. Americans don’t save much, as we all know; 91% don’t save for retirement, for example. The company aims to re-prioritize savings to take place alongside spending. Users can save $208 per month or $2,500 a year on average. When users make a payment, they attach a savings amount to it, like a tax. Money can be put into one of several buckets: savings, retirement accounts, donations and prepaid, or additional buckets that users can set up themselves. Users choose to set aside from 5% to 20% of their money.  This is a good candidate for a bank to integrate into a mobile app. Needs a new logo.

Cool Factor – 4
I Want It – 4
Profit Potential – 3

Zooz

Zooz presented its 3.0 checkout. The product was presented with payments processor First Data. Described as an optimized checkout solution, it seems Zooz presents different experiences for different users, which the company said boosts revenue and increases conversion rates. The checkout experience is optimized across multiple devices.

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 3
Profit Potential – 3

Kofax

Kofax presented an imaging solution in San Francisco earlier this year. Today, the company showed off its customer onboarding via smartphone. “Rightchanneling” — getting customers to their preferred channel — and originating loans on mobile is at the heart of the solution. FIs can slice and dice loans, for example, to see where money is being spent and where savings can be had (hint: mobile).

Cool Factor – 4
I Want It – 3
Profit Potential – 4

MoneyDesktop

Finovate darlings MoneyDesktop reported a whopping 4,300% revenue growth in the past two years, and that platform usage growth has tripled in the last three months. MoneyDesktop showed off a Goals feature employing a road metaphor to represent time. (In the demo, the user planned to buy a new car by 2029 — that’s thinking ahead!) Pushing clean data in real time was also discussed, though most banks are not capable of working in real time. Moven apparently now uses MoneyDesktop, after a long fling with Geezeo.

Cool Factor – 4
I Want It – 3
Profit Potential – 3

Luminous

Luminous is a South African company helping small businesses get loans and helping banks determine and monitor risk.  A bank-facing view presented documents about the health and status of current loans. The company promises to take away the fear factor for small businesses to get bank loans.

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 3
Profit Potential – 3

Versafe

Versafe’s presentation was an attention-getting demo from the start when the presenter said that the Finovate site was infected with malware. Later he said he was joking, but the crowd was unsettled by this overly distracting ploy. Mobile malware is a growing threat, so there is potential for this company. They got the bell for demo-ing longer than the allotted seven minutes.

Cool Factor – 2
I Want It – 2
Profit Potential – 2

Deluxe and VerifyValid

Checks are still big, especially for small businesses. This solution allows users to send checks over the internet, which recipients can print and deposit. The check is filled out online and can be sent to anyone with an email address. Deluxe and VerifyValid maintain that this solution keeps FIs at the core of the transaction, while digital money movement platforms are often unregulated. Good case for saving money.

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 3
Profit Potential – 4

TipRanks

We all get bad stock advice. TipRanks is a browser plugin that rates analysts and compares them to peers. Now users can tap into a live feed of recommendations happening on the web. TipRanks is also opening its API to allow research using its tools and data.

Cool Factor – 4
I Want It – 4
Profit Potential – 3

Capital Access Network

CAN is a lender to small businesses, both directly and through partners. The solution presented at Finovate, CAN Mobile Funder, is for an FI’s sales staff to offer loans to small businesses. CAN evaluates companies based on daily business rather than merely credit scores. Small businesses are the beneficiaries of a lot of attention from innovative companies lately.

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 2
Profit Potential – 3

Yodlee

PFM and online banking provider Yodlee presented Tandem, which helps people manage complex financial lives. Financial circles resemble those in Google+. Tandem is PFM for real lives. Pay for kids’ stuff without having to talk to the ex – bonus!

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 4
Profit Potential – 3

Strategy Corps

No one wants to pay for mobile or a basic checking account, said Strategy Corps in presenting its merchant-funded discount program. But customers gladly pay for BaZing, the company’s merchant rewards product.  According to the company, 40% of customers will pay $60-$70 per year. “Fee income is needed like never before.” Yup. The company claims a large number of merchants have signed up — 1,500 just in Manhattan?

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 4
Profit Potential – 3

Instabank

Currently live in Russia. What if your bank statement resembled your Facebook account? Is this a recipe for happiness? This is real social media banking. A user’s bank account is linked to Facebook. “Think Google Now for money,” the company said. Smart recommendations on financial decisions in a familiar interface. Pretty cool. But will it appeal to non-millennials?

Cool Factor – 4
I Want It – 4
Profit Potential – 3

SaaS Markets

This slightly confusing presentation showed off the Marketmaker platform for delivering app stores. Yes, app stores that allow companies to customize marketing to customers and employees. It’s a platform for delivering a platform. It includes reporting tools and analytics, as well as revenue-producing tool for FIs.

Cool Factor – 3
I Want It – 2
Profit Potential – 4

authenticID

Identity proofing is broken. New account frauds are up 52% and account takeovers up 53%. AuthenticID relies on picture IDs, rather than other form factors to determine identity, even of thin-file customers. It was the same demo as in SF — a takeover of Jamie Dimon’s identity was threatened and not delivered. And they were gonged.

Cool Factor – 2
I Want It – 3
Profit Potential – 3

FinanceIt

CommunityLend seems to have rebranded as one of its products, FinanceIt. At the checkout for e-commerce sites, financing is offered and nearly instantly approved. This is expected to launch in Q1 2014. FIs looking for new originations should look our way, the company said. It didn’t come across in the demo, but this is a company with a community focus that cares about responsible lending and borrowing over profits.

Cool Factor – 4
I Want It – 4
Profit Potential – 3

Overall, the morning was light on payments and startups and big on established players and Finovate veterans. Instabank and SavedPlus were standouts.