DES MOINES, Iowa, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartyPig (http://www.smartypig.com/), the leader in the social banking space, today announced the launch of the SmartyPig mobile site m.smartypig.com, which provides a secure and easy way to quickly access account information on the go. Users can view the current status of their savings goals and friends' goals, track transaction history, and make additional transfers of money right from their phones. While the mobile site is optimized to take advantage of the iPhone's look and feel, the team listened to customers and enlisted pinch/zoom (http://www.pinchzoom.com/) to optimize their site for other mobile devices, such as Android, Pre, HTC and BlackBerry.
"While there is a lot of emphasis on the iPhone App Store these days, we wanted the SmartyPig mobile Web site to provide the best possible experience to the largest possible market," said Mike Ferrari, COO and co-founder of SmartyPig. "We designed the site to have an attractive and easy to use interface on more advanced touch devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch, Android G1 and the upcoming Palm Pre, and went to great pains to make sure that users of all other mobile phones would be able to view their savings goals, regardless of what device they use."
SmartyPig is a secure new service that leverages the age-old idea of saving up for purchases before buying, while adding Web 2.0 and social networking technology to reach tech-savvy banking customers. With its recent OFX integration, SmartyPig allowed users to track goals in online money management sites like Mint.com and Wesabe. Taking the "pig" on the road was a top request from SmartyPig users, who the company keeps an ongoing dialogue with through customer service site GetSatisfaction, Twitter, a large fan group on Facebook, and through its popular blog.
"What appealed to me most about the mobile project was taking a great financial product like SmartyPig, and addressing the users' mobile context with an easy-to-use experience based on their goals," said Brian Fling, of pinch/zoom. "For example, we focused the design to make sure users could quickly see the balance of their SmartyPig savings goals and add money to it while away from their desk. I started using SmartyPig at the beginning of this project and now I use the mobile web site anytime I travel."
The SmartyPig mobile site lets users access all the assets of the program that make it the only true social banking solution. Users can:
-- View Goals - Saving money with SmartyPig is easy, but everyone needs encouragement now and again. With SmartyPig's new mobile site, you can quickly access and view the status of your goals and review your past transactions. -- Add Money - Once goals are setup, monthly contributions are automated. However, additional money can always be deposited. For example, when a user opts against an impulse purchase and wants to reward him or herself by contributing additional funds to a SmartyPig goal, the new mobile site makes that quick and easy. -- Friends - The social aspect of SmartyPig allows friends and family to view and support each others' goals, if they so choose. It often gives needed motivation to continue on the saving path, and the new mobile site allows quick reviews of what friends are saving for, and the progress they have made.
And everything is entirely secure. The SmartyPig mobile site utilizes VeriSign(R) SSL 256-bit encryption, is certified daily to pass the McAfee(R) SECURE Security Scan, and has undergone comprehensive security auditing and testing by Primeon, a leader in enterprise-wide application security. Primeon works with 50 of the largest financial services enterprises in the United States.
SmartyPig offers the only true banking application that is social, appealing to a younger, plugged-in customer base while making it easier and more fun than ever to save up for specific goals. In the U.S., the site offers a highly competitive 3.05% (APY)* interest rate, and provides customers with cash boosts up to 6% when a savings goal is reached from best-in-class retail partners like Royal Caribbean, Pottery Barn, Best Buy, Amazon and Home Depot.
SmartyPig was created after Ferrari, who had just set up a 529 college savings account for his new son, searched for a similar way to automatically save for a vacation with friends that offered him the benefits he felt were most important: a social networking aspect so the group could share in the experience, true incentives from retailers he frequents and ease of use. When he couldn't find anything, he partnered with strategic investors DataVision, Inc. and West Bank to create SmartyPig. The company has seen rapid adoption in the U.S. since its April 2008 launch.
About SmartyPig
Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, SmartyPig is a simple, smart and secure way to save for a specific goal. Using groundbreaking technology and the latest in security standards, SmartyPig helps users reach their savings goals faster by allowing them to invite family and friends to contribute to their accounts, gives additional incentive boosts from top retailers who sell exactly what users are saving for and offers a competitive interest rate (currently 3.05% APY). SmartyPig, LLC launched in the U.S. in April 2008 and in Australia with partner bank ANZ in February 2009. For more information, visit: http://www.smartypig.com/.
About DataVision, Inc.
For the past 15 years, several innovative business ventures have been created by, and launched out of DataVision, Inc. DVI has a proven record in funding and developing start-up businesses and turning innovative ideas into thriving entities for their investors and partners.
DVI Portfolio Companies -- DataVision Resources: A full-service business process outsourcing company (BPO) for 6 of the top Fortune 50 financial services companies, DVR is the successor company to DVI and has grown 500% from 2006 through Q1 2009. -- Businesssolver.com: Partnered with Principal Financial Group, Businesssolver is one of the leaders in the on-line benefit administration space with many of the top companies in the country as clients. -- Workcomp.NET: WorkComp.NET offers extensive mandatory, conditional and sequencing edits, data entry & full integration combined with superior customer support. Workcompan.NET was sold to Ingenix, the world's largest claim processor, in 2003. -- SmartyPig
The SmartyPig site is protected by copyright and trademark laws under U.S. and international law. U.S. and international patent pending. All rights reserved. U.S. Certificate of Registration #TXU001582439.
SmartyPig
CONTACT: Martha Shaughnessy, +1-415-987-0285, martha@atomicpr.com, for
SmartyPig
Web Site: http://www.smartypig.com/
