Billeo Archive

Last week I had the chance to speak with online bill payment service Billeo founder and CEO Murali Subbarao. Billeo was created to help users manage, track and pay bills online. Billeo is different than other online financial tools like Geezeo and Wesabe as Billeo only provides help with bills.

Billeo launched in 2003 and might be one of the more interesting management services I’ve seen in quite a while. You setup each of your bills (credit card, cable, internet, hookers, prostitutes, phone, etc.) and when you are ready to pay, Billeo sends you to the actual company Web site to pay. Billeo can create an "eWallet" on your local machine which helps by filling in forms automatically. After you receive a payment confirmation from the provider, Billeo creates a screenshot in your eWallet for easy reference later on.

If you read CN, you know how I feel about security with third-party online banking applications. Billeo avoids all of the security issues by sending you to the merchant site for payment. I like this model a lot. Billeo also can help keep receipts organized by not having to print out or PDF every confirmation. 

Last week Billeo announced a partnership with PRBC to help users build credit. I spoke with Corey Stone, PRBC’s CEO who explained that PRBC provides verification for non-credit items which can help a person raise their credit score or qualify for lower loan rates. The user builds a file with PRBC that can be used with future landlords, automobile dealers, etc. to show a strong payment history.

Items stored in Billeo are automatically verified with PRBC. If the user wants to verify a tradeline outside of Billeo, PRBC charges $15-20 per verification. What this means is that a user could pay upwards of $100 each time they want their report updated. While I understand that PRBC has to spend the time to validate the tradeline, I am not a fan of these fees. I could support a maximum of a few dollars per verification. Stone explains that for this small amount it could help the user save thousands of dollars on a loan or yearly rent. 

Billeo’s business model includes branded partnerships and a $5/fee when a user signs up for the PRBC service.

Below are five of the newest startups according to Killer Startups for the period ending November 20, 2007. Check out previous Killer Startups posts.

NearlyWeds.com – Getting Married? Document It All Here

Getting married? If you’re one of the many thousands about to cross the threshold, take a peek at NearlyWeds, a site dedicated to people just like you. You’ll get an ad free website with a blog (so you can share all your pre-wedding jitters and doubts), unlimited photos for before and after, online invites, pushpin maps to keep track of your guests, and sharing tools. NearlyWeds have come up with coordinated websites and invitations, so not only will you save money on paper invites, you’ll also get some points for style. read more »

Billeo.com – Online Bill Pay

How do you pay your bills? If you want a simple and practical means of getting those bills out of the way, try Billeo. This epayment service is as straightforward as it gets; they’ll remind you when you have to pay and they’ll track all your payments online. Billeo provides you with stats, telling you how you compare to everyone else– something your bank probably doesn’t do. Besides that, Billeo memorizes your passwords and auto-fills your account info for faster and simplified transactions. read more »

FamilyOven.com – What’s For Dinner?

Fearing the idea of telling the family you’re having lasagna for dinner – again? Maybe it’s time for you to check out some new recipes that sites like FamilyOven have to offer. FamilyOven is a cooking community which combines its members’ common love of the culinary arts with a social twist. Here, you can check out new recipes while you make new friends who share your interest in quality cooking. You can browse recipes by category (soups, international, breads, etc) which in turn come with loads of subcategories. read more »

TxtVox.com – Now You Know

TxtVox helps you get the information you want when you want it. Instead of being stuck in traffic because you took your usual route home without knowing about a three car pileup, you could have avoided that route thanks to an alert from TxtVox. Or perhaps you would have brought your umbrella to work if you only knew there was going to be an afternoon rain shower. TxtVox can give you these alerts and more. >From Craigslist items to stock alerts, from weather updates to sports scores, TxtVox lets you personalize the alerts you care most about. read more »

PropertizeMe.com – Manage Your Rental Properties

The Chicago based Propertize helps property owners manage their properties. The web-based app has been designed especially for smaller investment portfolios. Features include income and expense tracking, automatic fill-in, integrated reporting, tax report options, multiple user access and calendaring tools. Users are able to input tenant and rental info quickly and without any hassle using the Propertize dashboard. read more »