A Silicon Valley technology company with a green thumb is adapting its energy saving software to work within banks' websites.
WattzOn of Mountain View, Calif., has launched a platform that helps homeowners make smarter choices when it comes to their utility bills.
The dashboard tracks the average cost of keeping the lights on in any given neighborhood and compares it to the user's actual energy costs. It helps users pare down their bills with recommendations for solar panels and more up-to-date appliances.
The tool, WattzOn's founders say, provides a perfect opportunity for banks to cross-sell and to build a green reputation. For instance, if someone could save cash by installing solar panels, the bank could cross sell that person a home equity line of credit.
WattzOn launched its customizable software service for banks, credit card companies and others in March, during the annual Finovate conference in San Francisco. Ashby says his company is talking to a myriad of different financial services partners, including one "very, very large bank customer."
"The bank has the data on utility bills, and then we have the address of the home. We can use this to get the attributes of the home: where it was built, number of square feet, and the like," says Steven Ashby, WattzOn's co-founder and chief product and marketing officer. "And your home may be spending 80 percent more than similar homes near you."
WattzOn plans to charge banks a licensing fee as well as enter into a revenue-sharing agreement for the profit on the cards and loans they help initiate.
It's an added service that might not necessarily help banks attract additional customers, but it might aid banks in better serve existing ones.
"The bank itself doesn't have to make any sort of green pronouncements, or any green changes," says Nicole Sturgill, a research director in the retail banking and cards practice at CEB TowerGroup. "All they are doing is offering a loan, or offering financing for a green choice that they are marketing. I think it's interesting."
