Financial Solutions Lab Announces Winners of $3 Million Fintech Competition to Improve Financial Health of Overlooked Populations in America

“Over the last three years, we have been incredibly impressed by both the quality and volume of applicants to the Financial Solutions Lab,” said Jennifer Tescher, CEO and founder of the Financial Health Network. “This year was perhaps the most competitive yet. We are encouraged to see so many talented startups and nonprofits focused on finding truly innovative solutions that can help the 57% of Americans who struggle with financial health.”

“At JPMorgan Chase, we are incredibly proud to mentor and support a data-driven community of innovators who are focused on helping more Americans achieve financial health,” said Karen Keogh, Head of Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase. “We are delighted to see the progress that Financial Solutions Lab alumni have made over the past two years, with their products now serving over a million American consumers, and are confident that this year’s winners will continue to help us reach and empower overlooked populations.”

The broader issue of financial health was selected as this year’s Challenge because 57% of Americans – some 138 million adults – have difficulty managing their daily financial lives, establishing a cushion for financial resilience, and positioning themselves for financial security and mobility according to the Financial Health Network’s Consumer Financial Health Study. Research from the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that expenses fluctuate by 29% – nearly $1,300 – on a month-to-month basis for median-income households and that income volatility affects Americans across the income spectrum, with older families exhibiting a wider range of income and expense volatility.

The 2017 winners were selected from more than 300 applicants from across the United States. Winners were announced Thursday morning at the EMERGE Forum in Austin, TX, an event that gathers more than 800 banks, credit unions, fintech innovators, and other financial services providers to generate ideas around the new era of financial services.

Meet the Winners:

• Blueprint Income (New York, NY) is creating the future pension – a simple, pre-determined income stream backed by insurance companies. Blueprint Income makes it easy for anyone, regardless of employer, age, or wealth, to head into retirement with guaranteed, lifelong income.
• Dave (Los Angeles, CA) alerts consumers ahead of an upcoming overdraft and can instantly advance up to $75 at 0% interest to prevent overdraft fees.
• EverSafe (Columbia, MD) offers protection for aging Americans and their families by monitoring bank and investment accounts, credit cards, and credit reports, alerting them to any sign of irregular activity.
• Grove (San Francisco, CA) delivers personalized financial advice that is accessible and affordable. By pairing technology with advisors, Grove puts a comprehensive financial plan within reach for everyone.
• Nova Credit Inc. (San Francisco, CA) has built the world’s first cross-border credit reporting agency by building data partnerships across the globe. Nova Credit’s Credit Passport accompanies immigrants on all their moves, so they need never start building credit from scratch again.
• Point (Palo Alto, CA) is an alternative to traditional home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. Point buys into a fraction of a consumer’s property, paying today for a share of the home’s future appreciation. There are no monthly payments, no interest rate, and consumers can buy Point out or sell the home at any time.
• Token Transit (San Francisco, CA) is a mobile app to pay for public transportation that enables low-income riders to have convenient access to the transit passes they need. Riders are able to pay using a credit, debit, or prepaid debit card. Token Transit also partners with pass programs to distribute free or subsidized passes to qualifying riders.
• Tomorrow (Seattle, WA) is aimed at providing long-term financial security to busy millennials and working families.

Each company will receive networking and advisory opportunities to grow and scale their business, $250,000 in capital, as well as the following benefits:

• Access to the Financial Health Network and partnership opportunities that can help innovators increase product reach.
• 1:1 ongoing mentorship and expertise provided by the Financial Health Network and JPMorgan Chase executives and other industry leaders, including the Financial Solutions Lab’s own Entrepreneur-In-Residence and the Lab’s year-one member Tyler Griffin, founder and CEO of Prism (acquired by PayNearMe).
• Professional services assistance from industry leaders including the Financial Health Network, ideas42, IDEO.org, Paul Hastings, Promontory Financial, Google, and others.
• Peer learning opportunities via in-person retreats throughout the year and regular virtual working sessions.

Beyond the support it offers startups selected for its Financial Solutions Lab program, the Lab also recently issued a $100,000 grant to nonprofit GreenPath Financial Wellness, a national financial counseling organization, to support its work creating partnerships with Lab winners and other fintech providers. In partnering with providers of innovative financial health solutions, GreenPath plans to offer complementary tools that enhance its ability to serve and impact financially struggling Americans.

The Financial Solutions Lab Program’s First Two Years

The Financial Solutions Lab alumni make up a who’s who in fintech innovation, and include Year One alums Ascend Consumer Finance, Digit, Even, LendStreet, PayGoal by Neighborhood Trust, Prism (now part of PayNearMe/Handle), Propel (which recently closed a $4 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz), Puddle and SupportPay, as well as Year Two companies Albert, Bee, EARN, EarnUp, eCreditHero (now CreditHero, which recently participated in Tech Crunch Disrupt), Everlance, Remedy, Scratch and WiseBanyan. A profile of FinLab’s Year One winners is here, and Year Two winners can be found here.

Collectively, the members of the Financial Solutions Lab’s first two classes have raised more than $120 million in funding and acquisition deals, and today serve more than 1.3 million American consumers. In addition, more than 100 JPMorgan Chase employees have volunteered their expertise and leveraged their networks to help winners improve their products and increase their reach.

STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT

“Protecting older Americans from financial exploitation is everyone’s responsibility,” said Debra Whitman, Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP. “We applaud the Financial Health Network and JPMorgan Chase at the Financial Solutions Lab for their support of innovative fintech solutions that protect consumers as they age. Taking steps like using technology to monitor accounts and create alerts are essential to stop this growing form of abuse before it ever happens.”

“Access to money and financial management tools are key for lower-income households to achieve greater financial health and economic stability,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza (NCLR).“The Financial Solutions Lab enables innovators to offer new products and services to help Latino households manage their finances, thanks to the expertise of the Financial Health Network, and the mentorship and expertise offered by JPMorgan Chase.”

“National Disability Institute has long admired the work of the Financial Health Network and JPMorgan Chase at the Financial Solutions Lab, and the Lab’s dedication toward advancing the financial health of all Americans, especially those from underserved populations, through technology-based solutions,” said Chris Rodriguez, Director, ABLE National Resource Center. “Moreover, we could not be more excited about the Lab’s recent pursuit to address the challenges facing Americans with disabilities with respect to financial well-being.”

“It’s exciting to see more entrepreneurs innovating through technology to build solutions that have the potential for transformational impact on the financial health of the underserved community,” said Ash Hassan, Strategic Partnerships, Fintech, Google Play. “Together with the Financial Health Network and JPMorgan Chase, we look forward to helping improve more Americans’ financial health.”

“We are proud to lend our behavioral science expertise to the Financial Solutions Lab for the third year,” said Josh Wright, Executive Director, ideas42. “Thanks to its data-driven approach and mentorship offered by JPMorgan Chase and the Financial Health Network, the Lab has helped so many organizations both improve their products using insights into human behavior and better reach the growing number of people trying to achieve financial health. This year’s winners will only add to the Lab’s legacy of using fintech to improve the lives of many.”

“We are thrilled to join JPMorgan Chase and the Financial Health Network in their work to help so many innovative companies design breakthrough solutions to meet the needs of often overlooked populations,” said Jocelyn Wyatt, Executive Director, IDEO.org. “We look forward to helping advance the Lab’s mission to promote financial health for these communities.”

About the Financial Solutions Lab (FinLab)

The Financial Solutions Lab is a $30 million, five-year initiative managed by the Financial Health Network with founding Lab partner JPMorgan Chase & Co. to identify, test, and expand the availability of promising innovations that help Americans increase savings, improve credit, and build assets. The lab will launch a series of competitions to identify solutions to specific consumer financial challenges. It will provide incentives for entrepreneurs, businesses, and nonprofits to enhance financial products and services that address these challenges and improve consumers’ financial health. For more information, visit http://finlab.finhealthnetwork.org.

About the Financial Health Network

The Financial Health Network is the nation’s authority on consumer financial health. The Financial Health Network leads a network of financial services innovators committed to building a more robust financial services marketplace with higher quality products and services. Through its Compass Principles and a lineup of proprietary research, insights, and events, the Financial Health Network informs, advises, and connects members of its network to seed the innovation that will transform the financial services landscape. For more on the Financial Health Network, go to www.finhealthnetwork.org/ and follow on Twitter at @finhealthnet.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional, and government clients under its JPMorgan Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.