By taking out a mortgage with ING, Dutch borrowers can now help families in Bangladesh and India build homes of their own. Through its new Huis voor een huis (Home for a home) program, ING's clients are given the option of donating EUR 300 when they sign for their mortgage, an amount the bank doubles to EUR 600.

To maximize the impact of those donations, ING has partnered with Dutch non-profit Wereldfoundation. Instead of simply handing out the money, the foundation provides microfinancing; borrowers who have previously taken out a business loan and have shown that they're financially responsible, are eligible for a home loan. As the microloans are paid back, the money can be made available to more borrowers, with the goal of helping entire villages build new homes.

At a time when banks are seen as epicenters of avarice and incompetence, it's a well-considered approach to being generous. For many more examples of branded benevolence, check out trendwatching.com's Generation G briefing. (Related: Buy one house, give one free — Matching program doubles Kiva loans — Shoes for good.)

Website: www.ing.nl/huisvooreenhuis

We've written about a few different sites focused on helping friends share expenses, including general-purpose BillMonk and Wigadoo for outings. Now a new contender out of Finland has come to the table with a novel e-commerce twist.

Scred—short for "street credit"—allows friends, groups and communities to manage their collective money. Its Pools feature, first of all, is designed to help friends keep track of who owes what during a joint excursion, for example. Friends all sign up for the same pool when they know they'll need to track expenses together, and then they input each cost incurred as they go along. The system will track debts between people, balance debts and shared expenses and then calculate who owes what in the end—even using multiple currencies. The Pools function is free to use, and is also available via mobile phone.

Perhaps even more interesting, however, is Scred's MiniCorps feature—now in beta—which can be used to take in money and have it automatically accounted by Scred. Aimed at users such as associations, trip organisers, charity groups and artists, MiniCorps serve much like virtual companies as they allow groups to sell items or collect fees and donations through a Scred shop, track both income and expenses, and calculate profits and losses. MiniCorps are free to use during the feature's beta period; all money is handled via PayPal.

With the growing number of sellsumers out there, eager to earn some extra cash during these tough economic times, we'd bet Scred's MiniCorps feature will be met with a particularly warm reception. What else could help sales-oriented consumers make the most of their bottom line...?

Website: www.scred.com
Contact: scred@scred.com

Spotted by: John Greene

Back in March, we featured SmartyCard, a program for kids that combines educational games with virtual and real-world rewards. Focusing on an older crowd, GradeFund offers college students the opportunity to be rewarded for academic achievement.

GradeFund lets students recruit sponsors—usually friends and family—who donate money for each good grade. Participating students upload their transcripts at the end of each term and GradeFund verifies them and then collects funds from the sponsors, who can set their own criteria such as sponsoring students from their alma mater or choosing specific grade levels to sponsor. They can determine donation amounts for each grade, from as low as USD 5. GradeFund also allows employers to find students anonymously through their performance record, potentially netting students job and internship offers. So far, over 16,000 people have signed up for the program.

With the cost of college increasingly difficult for students (and parents) to cover, innovative programs that provide an alternative to loans and scholarships are only going to get more popular. If you're in financial services or education, time to get involved?

Website: www.gradefund.com
Contact: support@gradefund.com

Spotted by: Susan Johnston

Entrepreneurial types may already be familiar with Ideablob, the online community where big thinkers and small business owners can exchange feedback on their business ideas. Credit card issuer Advanta sponsors the site, which launched back in 2007, and now it's adding live events billed as "open mic nights" for great ideas.

Bloblive is a networking event that's essentially intended to be a live version of Ideablob: Attendees air their business ideas in front of a live audience of fellow participants in exchange for advice, feedback and connections. The first Bloblive was held in Philadelphia last fall; since then, it has been expanded to Nashville, San Diego and Los Angeles as well. Events are held several times a month, with entry priced at USD 10; both venue and "brain food" are provided. Memberships are also available for USD 20 per month, providing free access to all local events as well as pitch coaching, members-only breakfasts and other benefits. Bloblive events are also streamed online; updates are broadcast on Twitter.

Just because the economy is a shambles, that doesn't mean the end of entrepreneurship—in fact, in many ways, it's the ideal time to launch something new, as we've noted before. The swelling ranks of entrepreneurs, minipreneurs and sellsumers can use support both online and off—one to bring to (aspiring) entrepreneurs near you? (Related: Professional feedback, instant and peer-to-peer — Tech support for minipreneurs.)

Website: www.bloblive.com
Contact: hello@ideablob.com

Ever since the internet became an integral part of daily life, we’ve become accustomed to securing a wide range of online identities with usernames and passwords. But what happens when someone passes away, leaving their family and business associates unable to access their email, online photos, financial accounts and other online assets? It’s a problem that San Francisco-based startup Legacy Locker aims to solve.

Legacy Locker lets people store details for every online account they use, from Gmail and Facebook to eBay and PayPal. They can assign different digital assets to different beneficiaries, who are entrusted with access details in the event of the customer’s death or disability. Users can also prepare letters for the loved ones to whom they’ve entrusted their accounts. Legacy Locker, which launched last week, uses a multi-step verification process to ensure that the digital assets are as secure as a real safety deposit box. (Related: A virtual vault for information-age valuables.)

Website: www.legacylocker.com
Contact: www.legacylocker.com/support/contact

Spotted by: May Almero-Cruz

Handing over the car keys to a teen is probably one of the most terrifying acts a parent must perform, but next in line on the anxiety scale is surely handing over a credit card. Aiming to provide a safer alternative, BillMyParents gives parents the power to approve or deny any purchases by their teens before they're made.

Unlike facecard, which we wrote about last summer, BillMyParents is not simply a prepaid shopping card. Rather, it's a payment method that puts control in parents' hands. Teens do their online shopping at a participating online retail website—currently, only gift cards can be purchased, as the service is still being launched. When they check out using BillMyParents, their parents are notified of their requested purchase. Parents who approve of the purchase can then enter their credit card information to complete the transaction; otherwise, they can deny it and their teen will be automatically notified. Children never get access to their parents' credit card information, and control remains squarely in parents' hands.

Offered by San Diego-based Socialwise, BillMyParents charges USD 0.50 per transaction—a small price to pay, one could argue, for a little peace of mind. Currently, however, it's aimed only at US consumers. One to localize for your part of the world? (Related: Prepaid cab card: get home free.)

Website: www.billmyparents.com
Contact: info@billmyparents.com

Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz

Instead of researching which bank offers the highest interest rate, Dutch consumers can now put their money up for auction, getting banks to bid on their savings.

After registering with new online facilitator Spaarbod, consumers state how much money they'd like to put aside, for how long and on which terms. The website automatically calculates the best rates that are currently available to all. At that point, consumers can sign up for that offer. However, they can also wait and see what banks will bid at auction. Spaarbod sends their data—minus personal details—to participating banks, who make an offer in a sealed-bid auction. Within a day, a user receives an email listing the five highest bidders, and can pick the best offer. The service is free for consumers, and banks pay a commission for every bid that results in a savings deposit.

Spaarbod's method is an interesting example of the intention economy at work. Buyers state a purchasing intention, and companies compete for their business. Which, in theory, turns selling into a buyer-oriented process, and alleviates the need for advertising. One to watch! (Related: Shipping market capitalizes on intentions.)

Website: www.spaarbod.nl
Contact: info@spaarbod.nl

A Dutch car insurer for women recently launched a useful new service. As soon as weather warnings are issued about conditions that could make driving hazardous, Onna-onna sends its clients a text message advising them to be extra alert or even stay off the road. The company relies on weather reports from the National Meteorological Institute, and provides the text messages free of charge to clients who have signed up for them.

Aiming to reduce the number of accidents caused by heavy winds, icy roads and severe thunderstorms, the warning service is part of Onna-onna's wider efforts to promote road safety. Which isn't a purely philanthropic gesture, of course—lower accident rates are good for any insurer's bottom line. Onna-onna is planning to trial the service for a year before evaluating and potentially adding other SMS-based perks.

For companies trying to build their brand and forge meaningful relationships with their customers, text messages offer a relatively inexpensive way to keep in touch. And a powerful one, if used to share information that's both relevant and useful. What would your customers like to hear from your brand, in 160 characters or less?

Website: www.onna-onna.nl
Contact: www.onna-onna.nl/klantenservice/contact

As if phones didn't already do enough, one of the latest mobile apps transforms iPhones and iPod Touches into portable charge card terminals. ProcessAway plugs into Authorize.net's payment processing platform, allowing entrepreneurs to accept credit card payments anywhere they can access the internet.

After downloading the app and (separately) setting up a merchant account with Authorize.net, clients can use ProcessAway like a traditional charge card terminal: enter the amount, input the card number, expiry date and verification code, and process. There's even a tip option for service businesses. Customers receive an email receipt for each transaction, and merchants can view transactions and process refunds on the fly. Aware that consumers might be weary of having their credit card details punched into a phone, ProcessAway stresses that's a secure application: information is never stored in the phone and the program won't connect to anything other than the terminal.

If it can gain trust and acceptance, ProcessAway could be particularly useful for those who need to process and authorise payments on-the-go, like on-site consultants or handymen. It's also useful at venues that don't have fixed terminals: antique shows, market stalls and music merchandise stands.

ProcessAway is available from Apple's App Store for USD 19.99, and Authorize.net collects its usual transaction fees. ProcessAway isn't the only one playing this field: Innerfence released its slightly more basic Credit Card Terminal app late last year. Although both programs are currently only available in the US, they could be a valuable tool for minipreneurs in other parts of the world.

Website: www.processaway.net

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie

Back in 2007 we noted the return of layaway payment plans, and in today's economic climate the need for such arrangements is clearly even greater. Completely understandable, then, that several upcoming music festivals are giving attendees a layaway option for purchasing their tickets.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, for example, will take place from April 17 to 19 in Indio, Calif., featuring a range of indie-rock artists. A three-day pass to the festival costs USD 269 plus fees, but this year, would-be attendees buying online have two alternatives to purchasing their tickets outright. First, they can pay just 50 percent of the cost up front, plus Ticketmaster fees, and then have the remaining 50 percent automatically deducted on April 1. Alternatively, they can pay 10 percent up front, plus Ticketmaster fees, and have the remaining amount automatically deducted in two equal payments on March 1 and April 1. The last day to order via layaway is Feb. 28, but the option is not available for single-day tickets or camping travel packages. The Coachella festival is produced by Goldenvoice, which is offering similar layaway options at its Stagecoach Country Music Festival, also held in April in California.

Country Thunder USA, meanwhile, is offering an EZ-Pay option to purchase USD 119 general admission for its April festival in Arizona in two installments at no extra charge. Tickets must be purchased online by the end of this month.

Finally, for the June Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee, attendees who buy by the end of February have the option of purchasing their USD 249.50 general admission tickets in five installments of USD 50 plus applicable fees. Bonnaroo offered an installment plan last year as well, according to USA Today.

Economic woes may be hitting consumers far and wide, but that doesn't mean all luxuries have to be dispensed with. Be flexible in your terms of payment, and consumers may just pay you back—with interest! ;-)

Websites: www.coachella.com/layaway — www.bonnaroo.com/tickets/payment-plan.aspx — www.stagecoachfestival.com/layaway — www.countrythunder.com/ct_2003/assets/07web/az/informationaz.html

Spotted by: Judy McRae