New York — Finovate is the financier’s version of Fashion Week. Rather than models draped in new garb prancing down catwalks, financial tech companies take the stage to demo their new products in seven minutes or less to “fin-techies,” investors, analysts and banks — attendees who are all hoping to ascertain patterns of FI disruption.

After attending this week’s Finovate Fall and viewing 63 demos, a number of innovation themes jumped out to Bank Innovation that we’re sure will serve as the FI innovation pillars in months (probably even years) to come. Here’s what we gathered:

1. Revamped rewards programs were in full swing at the event. Cartera Commerce, Offermatic and FreeMonee were just some of the companies that leaked ways they hope to redefine and capture the market. But with the merchant loyalty niche getting more and more crowded, we imagine there will be some sort of fall out among the players, much like what is now happening in the mainstream daily deals realm. Some of the players argue that targeting deals based on consumers’ transaction history will result in the “right” deal for the “right consumer” and bring in money for all parties. “Everyday spend” discounts, like grocery shopping, seem to be what consumers want from the digital discount side.

2. PFM tools graced the New York stage in various ways, shapes, and forms. The underlying goal of all efforts? Schooling consumers on their finances, with many vendors developing tools that incorporate consumers’ financial goals into their plans. LearnVest, FamZoo, Planwise, and DoughMain all attacked this theme. Getting consumers to use these tools will be a challenge ahead for one and all.

3. Small business tools abound. Everything from helping small businesses access capital to debuting tools to assist them with managing cashflow made an appearance at Finovate. Lighter Capital, MasterCard Worldwide (of course), and Rebirth Financial were three companies targeting the group. Certainly, the market is overdue for new tools and services.

4. Using nontraditional data in underwriting repeatedly took the Finovate stage, too. Demyst.Data and Kabbage showed attendees that social media data can be used to help determine credit risk. Overcoming “big data” challenges was a major theme at Sibos this week, too. The idea is that buried in the avalanche of social media data is usable nuggets of information. We imagine that the first venture to master “big data” in financial services will get invited to Mark Zuckerberg’s Labor Day BBQ.