A DEEPER FORAY INTO MINT.COM`S SYSTEM

When it comes to financial management services, Mint.com is one of the prominent names. Since it emerged in 2006, it was able to expand in terms of capital and client base. At present, it caters to 20 million customers and has tremendously improved after it was acquired by Intuit three years after.

Operations

Mint mainly collects user information of an individual's personal finances and storing it in a single location. It then links his online account to his bank account wherein the site will receive data with every transaction and offer customizable reports in return.

Intuit takeover

The procurement by the software company has provided benefits on how Mint operates since it was able to have access on the former’s methods of gathering info on an individual’s finances via its web scraping applications. Meanwhile, reports from large banks can be obtained by using their file transfer codes.

Funding

Initially, the web based money manager got $750,000 from investors. It was then awarded with $4.7M and $12M funds respectively due to venture capital financing, while its latest cash came from INTU purchase.

Advertising strategies

The site was able to generate revenue from advertisements from website banners and compensations from companies who purchase advertising spaces. It uses target pitching for increased relevants as users will be able to view older history in the displays. Aside from this, it also has a credit report tracking system, wherein the subscription, which costs $16.69 per month gives you figures regarding your credit score and monitors potential theft.

Services and profit

This online cash handler generates profit through referrals made by firms and products. For example, when a customer heeds the advice or recommendation of Mint, it gets a referral payment from the company. This service also applies when a person requests for alternatives as it contains links to other options in terms of credit cards or banking opportunities. For example, if a client clicks on that certain links and tries out an offer, it automatically equates to an earning. An estimated 10 to 15% usually completes suggestion links which provide income for the firm.

Aside from this, another revenue source is the selling of accumulated consumer data since it has access to information related to trends. The gathered facts are are compiled through combining negotiations among several people and obfuscating identifiers so a pool of data emerges. The amassed material which is sold provides analysis on topics such as spending habits and banking.