Back to BlogWe are excited to announce the 16 finalist organizations that are in the running to be part of the second class of the Financial Solutions Lab (FinLab) at Financial Health Network with founding partner JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Selected from more than 300 applicants, these 16 companies represent the most promising early-stage innovations aiming to help Americans weather financial shocks, the consumer challenge that Financial Solutions Lab seeks to address.
Each company will present their solution to a panel of judges during the Financial Health Network’s annual EMERGE Forum; this year’s judges include industry leaders in banking, consumer advocacy, nonprofits, investments, and entrepreneurship.
The finalists will also demo their products to the EMERGE conference attendees, who will vote on their favorite innovations. Between the panel of judges and EMERGE attendee voting, the second class of the Financial Solutions Lab will be chosen and announced on June 16.
Meet the Finalists
Albert
Albert is a mobile app that improves financial health with practical financial advice and in-app actions that can be taken. Albert partners with handpicked financial institutions – like banks, lenders, and insurers – to seamlessly integrate their services within Albert’s app experience.
Bee
Bee is a fintech startup built on the principle that all Americans deserve convenient, high quality retail financial services. Bee partners with the Financial Health Network to offer mobile-first alternatives to checking and savings accounts, and uses pop-up kiosks and street teams to sign up customers in-person in the neighborhoods where they live and work.
Blooom
Blooom is an online Registered Investment Advisor bringing professional retirement portfolio management to the 90+ million Americans saving for their retirement who struggle to understand and manage the complex choices within their employer-sponsored accounts. Through intuitive imagery, simple language, and flat-rate pricing, Blooom makes professional 401(k) management accessible to everyone.
DoubleNet Pay
DoubleNet Pay is a highly secure, enterprise-grade software engine that powers automatic short term savings and cash flow management for employees by integrating into an existing company payroll, retirement, and benefits platforms.
EARN
EARN is a national nonprofit that gives working families the power to create prosperity for generations. As the nation’s leading microsavings provider, EARN gives families the tools to achieve life-changing goals like saving for college, buying a first home, or starting a small business. EARN’s ultimate vision is that millions of well-informed, working American families will achieve financial success through proven strategies, fair public policy, and their own hard work.
EarnUp
EarnUp is a pro-consumer community dedicated to helping every American simplify their financial life and save. EarnUp’s loan optimization platform intelligently syncs micropayments with income and automates real-time savings based on the consumer’s personal lifestyle and finances.
eCreditHero
Eighty percent of credit reports contain an error. For the 108 million Americans whose credit score prevents access to quality credit, the process to repair these errors can be intimidating and overwhelming. eCreditHero helps consumers fix their credit for free, helping to qualify the unqualified and unleash large untapped markets for financial services.
Everlance
Everlance is an app that allows freelancers to automatically track their business miles and expenses. Everlance leverages this data to help freelancers make better financial decisions. Today more than 10,000 people rely on Everlance.
FlexWage Solutions
FlexWage solves a massive socioeconomic problem, providing financial empowerment benefits to employers of lower and middle income (or “LMI”) workers. WageBank enables employees to access their accrued wages within the pay cycle, avoiding costly encounters with bounced checks and predatory lending, so that they can better manage short term cash flow challenges.
Lenny
Lenny, a mobile-exclusive lending platform, offers credit lines to Millennials ranging from $100 to $10,000. The company uses alternative data – such as social data – to evaluate credit-worthiness. Users can cash out to their bank accounts or pay friends using the P2P payment functionality. Lenny also offers free credit scores via its FICO partnership.
Long Game
Long Game helps people save for their future by providing prize-linked savings accounts through a fun, engaging, and beautiful mobile experience.
Qwil
Over $1 trillion in independent contractor income annually in the U.S. is locked in at 30, 60, or 90-day invoicing cycle – and individual and business expenses don’t wait for an invoice to get paid. With Qwil, independent contractors can avoid the invoicing cycle and get paid instantly. Qwil is a Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to providing independent contractors with the financial tools they need to thrive.
Remedy
Remedy protects people from medical bill errors and overcharges, saving the average family over $1,000 per year. Acting on behalf of the patient, Remedy intercepts every bill, resolves any errors directly with providers, and makes it easy for patients to pay the correct balance online.
Scratch
Scratch is a modern-day loan servicer that delivers a borrower-first experience by leveraging technology to significantly improve the consumers’ ability to understand, manage, and repay their loans while helping transform the servicing ecosystem for both borrowers and lenders.
SimpleDisability Insurance
100 million working Americans lack disability insurance. SimpleDisability helps institutions and individual agents identify clients that would have a high propensity to purchase disability insurance and creates automated marketing to target those clients. Clients can then access a fully-digital, 10-minute application and underwriting process – a vast improvement over the paper-intensive, 6-month process that exists today.
WiseBanyan
WiseBanyan is the world’s first free financial advisor. WiseBanyan builds and manages tailored investment plans to reach financial milestones such as retirement, creating a rainy day fund, or purchasing a home. Clients simply link a bank account, and WiseBanyan’s end-to-end infrastructure automates the achievement of their financial goals.
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