BillGuard explained

BillGuard
Type:Private
Location City:New York City
Location Country:United States
Products:Rich web application, Mobile application
Foundation:2010
Founder:Yaron Samid (CEO), Raphael Ouzan (CTO) [1]
Industry:Computer software, Internet, Personal finance

BillGuard was a personal finance security and productivity company. Its mobile and web applications scanned credit and debit card transactions, alerting users to potential scams, billing errors, fraudulent charges, and hidden fees.[2] [3]

As of October 2014, BillGuard reported flagging over $60 million in suspect charges on behalf of its users, based on more than $1 billion in monitored transactions.[4] [5] [6]

In September 2015, BillGuard was acquired by Prosper Marketplace[7] [8] and subsequently renamed Prosper Daily.

On August 31, 2017, Prosper discontinued the Prosper Daily service, recommending the Clarity Money app as an alternative, stating that it "offers many of the same features as Prosper Daily."[9]

BillGuard was recognized as "one of the top online banking innovations of all time" by MarketConsensus[10] and named a “Top 10 Tech Company” by American Banker.[11]

BillGuard was also ranked as the "Top 2015 Most Powerful Financial Protection App" by AdvisoryHQ News.[12]

Products

In July 2013, BillGuard launched a free iPhone app, encouraging users to take a more active role in monitoring their charges compared to the company's earlier "set-and-forget" web application.[13] [14] In May 2014, BillGuard introduced a free Android app.[15]

BillGuard provided personalized data breach alerts, notifying users if they had shopped at a merchant that had experienced a breach.[16]

BillGuard utilized a combination of crowdsourced user feedback, data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, complaints posted online, and proprietary algorithms to identify charges to highlight for users through email and smartphone push alerts.[17] [18]

BillGuard Resolve directly connected merchants with customers seeking to inquire about charges on their cards.[19] BillGuard FI, designed for financial institutions, aimed to reduce transaction inquiry and dispute processing costs.[20]

History

The company was founded in 2010 by Yaron Samid (CEO) and Raphael Ouzan (CTO), with $3 million in seed funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Founder Collective, SV Angel, IA Ventures, Social Leverage, and Yaron Galai.[21]

BillGuard launched at TechCrunch Disrupt New York in May 2011, where it won second place.[22] In 2011, the company raised a $10 million financing round from its seed funders, along with Vinod Khosla’s Khosla Ventures, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, and Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors.[23] BillGuard was awarded "2011 Big-Data Startup of the Year" at the O'Reilly Media Strata Conference[24] and won ‘Best of Show’ at the Finovate conference in both 2011 and 2012.[25]

The Jerusalem Post writer Joseph Sherman notes:

"Business Schools around the world study how the Rothschild family transformed the world of international banking. In a practical spin on the story, today, on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, Raphael Ouzan is living his dream in Israel as the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of a start-up that is changing how consumers monitor their credit and debit card spending, and helping us get our money back from unwanted and deceptive charges."[26]

Grey Charges Report

In July 2013, BillGuard and the Aite Group released a comprehensive "Grey Charges" report, which found that in 2012, U.S. cardholders received over $14.3 billion in deceptive and unwanted credit and debit card charges.[27] According to the report, one in three American cardholders receives at least one grey charge each year, averaging $215 per person annually.[28] [29] [30] [31]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Raphael Ouzan interview on Startup Camel Podcast. 28 February 2015. Startup Camel. https://web.archive.org/web/20150320232832/http://startupcamel.com/ep-63-raphael-ouzan-billguard/. 20 March 2015. dead.
  2. News: Personal-Finance Security Firm Raises $10 Million. The Wall Street Journal.
  3. News: BillGuard (iPhone). PCMag . Kathy. Yakal.
  4. News: Analytics Startup BillGuard Has Flagged $50M in Suspect Charges. American Banker.
  5. Web site: BillGuard Launches iPhone App To Help Credit Card Users Catch And Dispute "Grey Charges". 25 July 2013 . TechCrunch.
  6. Web site: BillGuard now helps Brits, Aussies and New Zealanders combat credit card fraud and hidden merchant fees. 19 June 2014.
  7. News: Israeli Startup BillGuard Bought for Reported $40m. Inbal. Orpaz.
  8. Web site: Ranking. 27 September 2016.
  9. Web site: Prosper Daily. www.prosper.com. 2018-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180928021131/https://www.prosper.com/daily. 2018-09-28. dead.
  10. Web site: BillGuard – One of the Top Banking Innovations of all Time . MarketConsensus . 2015-06-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150620233452/http://www.marketconsensus.com/news/billguard-one-top-banking-innovations-all-time/ . 2015-06-20 . dead.
  11. Web site: Top 10 Tech Companies to Watch. 3 December 2012 . American Banker.
  12. Web site: BillGuard Review & Ranking (Is BillGuard Safe?) . AdvisoryHQ.
  13. Web site: BillGuard Launches iPhone App To Help Credit Card Users Catch And Dispute "Grey Charges". Lawler. Ryan. July 25, 2013.
  14. Web site: BillGuard app manage your spending easily. theappzine.com, Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  15. Web site: BillGuard Launches Its Personal Finance App On Android And Adds Data Breach Alerts. May 15, 2014.
  16. Web site: BillGuard Alerts You When a Retailer or Bank You Use Is Breached. May 15, 2014.
  17. Web site: Top 10 Tech Companies to Watch.
  18. Web site: Personal Finance Security Start-up Closes $10 Million Round.
  19. Web site: BillGuard®; BillGuard Resolve™ for Merchants . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140214093815/https://www.billguard.com/merchants . 14 February 2014.
  20. Web site: BillGuard® BillGuard FI™ for banks . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140214083938/https://www.billguard.com/fi . 14 February 2014.
  21. News: BillGuard Raises $3M To Track Hidden Fees, Billing Errors On Credit Card Bills. Rao. Leena. TechCrunch. 2018-01-26. en.
  22. News: And The Winner Of TechCrunch Disrupt NYC Is…Getaround!. Rao. Leena. TechCrunch. 2017-11-29. en.
  23. News: BillGuard Gets $10M From Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Innovation Endeavors, Others - PE Hub. 2011-10-18. PE Hub. 2017-11-29. en-US.
  24. Web site: Strata Startup Showcase: Strata 2011 - O'Reilly Conferences, February 01 - 03, 2011, Santa Clara, CA. conferences.oreilly.com. 2017-11-29.
  25. News: FinovateFall 2011 Best of Show Winners Named - Finovate. 2011-09-21. Finovate. 2017-11-29. en-US.
  26. News: Sherman. Joseph J. High-Tech Aliya: A start-up immigrant shares secrets to success. 29 July 2014. The Jerusalem Post. 2013-07-30. Business Schools around the world study how the Rothschild family transformed the world of international banking. In a practical spin on the story, today, on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, Raphael Ouzan is living his dream in Israel as the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of a start-up that is changing how consumers monitor their credit and debit card spending, and helping us get our money back from unwanted and deceptive charges..
  27. Web site: The Economic Impact of Grey Charges on Debit and Credit Cardholders and Issuers. 2013. Aite Group.
  28. News: YOUR MONEY-How to avoid 'gray charges' on credit card bills . Reuters . Mitch . Lipka . July 26, 2013 . June 30, 2017 . September 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924183341/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/26/credit-graycharges-advice-idUSL1N0FV1TI20130726?feedType=RSS&feedName=everything&virtualBrandChannel=11563 . live .
  29. News: Are 'gray charges' draining your wallet? . Fox News . July 26, 2013.
  30. News: Consumers rack up $14.3 billion in 'gray' charges . USA Today . Hadley . Malcolm . July 25, 2013.
  31. Web site: Six ways merchants fill your credit card with unwanted 'gray charges' . . 7 December 2012 .

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