In a bid to coax consumers into spending more at the store this Christmas, retail giant Sears is encouraging them to save first, using their Christmas Club card. Instead of functioning like a credit card (as many store cards do) the Sears card allows users to add value beforehand—just like paying money into a bank account. Providing they do this before November 14, members of the scheme who join before October 31 will be entitled to a handsome reward of 3% extra to spend in Sears, Kmart and associated stores. Compare that with current interest rates on checking and savings accounts and the attraction is obvious.

The scheme—inspired by old-fashioned Christmas clubs at banks and credit unions—could provide an incentive to save (and shop) for now credit-shy Americans, as they begin to emerge from the worst of the financial crisis. For the retailer, the Christmas Club system will guarantee them a share of the Christmas market in advance. (Related: Layaway is back.)

Website: www.sears.com/shc/s/dap_10153_12605_DAP_Christmas+Club
Contact: www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_12608_NB_CSeMail?adCell=IWF

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Entrepreneurs in the developing world have already benefited from peer-to-peer lending programs through the likes of Kiva, Wokai and Jolkona. Now aiming to bring similar benefits to students in those areas is Vittana, a Seattle-based foundation that focuses on educational loans.

Now in beta, Vittana partners with microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout the developing world to catalyze new student lending programs. Potential lenders begin by browsing through the students profiled on the site—current examples include a 19-year-old woman studying industrial administration in Peru, for example, and a 25-year-old man studying financial accounting in Nicaragua. When they see one they'd like to help, they can lend as little as USD 25 toward that student's education. Vittana's local MFI partner—which has already verified that the students listed are hard-working and likely to succeed—then disburses the full amount of that loan to the student. Once the student graduates and gets a job, he or she starts paying back that MFI partner; when the loaned funds are fully repaid, Vittana returns to the lender the full amount that was lent.

We wrote last year about Fynanz and its peer-to-peer student loans, but it's nice to see similar capabilities being brought to students in the developing world. One to partner with, emulate, or otherwise get involved in! (Related: Fighting poverty through microloan guarantees.)

Website: www.vittana.org
Contact: customer-service@vittana.org

Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz

Crowdfunding has already received considerable ink on our virtual pages thanks to all the innovators out there who have applied it to bands, software projects and public schools, to name just a few. Now Brooklyn-based Kickstarter has picked up the concept and created a new site where artists, journalists, entrepreneurs, explorers and others can raise the funds for their next big idea.

Anyone with an idea for a new endeavour can post a description of their project on Kickstarter along with a deadline, a funding goal and incentives to encourage others to pledge financial support—a free T-shirt for pledging USD 25, for example. They also create an account with Amazon Payments, which will process backers' pledges. After browsing the available projects on the site, visitors can then make pledges towards the projects they like. If—and only if—a project's funding goal is reached or exceeded by the funding deadline, funds are collected from supporters' pledges and transferred to the project creator's Amazon account, from which they can access the cash—less the fees Amazon charges. Supporters, meanwhile, get the promised rewards along with access to project updates along the way. If, on the other hand, the goal isn't reached in time, all pledges are immediately cancelled automatically. In addition to raising funds for new projects, current Kickstarter members have used the free site for sales and to test out new concepts—a pop-up wedding chapel is one example.

Kickstarter is currently for use by invitation only, and because of Amazon Payments' policy, projects can only be started by those with a US address and bank account. One to emulate in your neck of the idea-filled woods...? (Related: Activism site ensures participation.)

Website: www.kickstarter.com
Contact: kickstarter.zendesk.com/home

Spotted by: Andrew Sargent

Taking a calendar-based approach to organizing personal finances, PocketSmith is a online tool designed to make budgeting easier than ever. Users input their scheduled salary, bill payments, rent and grocery bills and have each of these categories repeat weekly, fortnightly or monthly, which is made relatively painless through integration with Google Calendar, iCal and Outlook. PocketSmith then calculates all incoming and outgoing transactions to generate a six or twelve month forecast. Diving right into the ugly details, users can pick any given date and receive a predicted bank balance for that day. So there's no more wondering what will be left one week before (or after) Christmas.

If users are unhappy with their predicted balance, they can adjust their scheduled 'financial events' and immediately see the changes reflected in their projected cashflow, helping them set and aim for long-term goals. Subscribers can easily upload electronic bank statements; there's no need to supply confidential information.

While PocketSmith has joined a competitive arena—Mint seems to be the current leader of the webbased personal finance pack—its predictive powers could draw in a new crowd of consumers seeking to get a better grasp on their financial future. The basic version of PocketSmith is free, and subscribers can sign up for more premium versions at USD 5 and USD 12 per month.

Website: www.pocketsmith.com
Contact: www.pocketsmith.com/contact

Spotted by: Harriet Geoghegan

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