Guest Post from our friend Rob Garcia, Director of Product Strategy at Lending Club.

SXSW Interactive has quickly become the conference where attendees and presenters explore the latest trends, technologies and products that are changing how we interact, communicate and transact.

This year, Lending Club will sit with SmartyPig, Mint and CreditKarma to talk money and innovation in the banking industry. Jennifer Openshaw, CEO of Family Financial Network will moderate a conversation that promises to be interesting and thought provoking.

In the midst of a financial crisis, people are compelled to save, budget and lower their dependency on traditional financial services. Stock picking communities, person-to-person lending, personal finance management and even credit score management tools, have emerged to serve the changing needs of customers exclusively served by traditional banks and credit unions.

In this panel, we will discuss key trends, emerging technologies, and financial products that are changing the way people interact with the banking and financial services industries.

Banking 2.0: Financial Services Driven by People & Emerging Technologies

• Saturday March 13 at 12:30pm at the Hilton Hotel, downtown Austin, Room G
• Moderated by Jennifer Openshaw, CEO of Family Financial Network
• Attend >>

Panelists:

• Rob Garcia, Sr Director Product Strategy, LendingClub.com
• Aaron Forth, VP of Product, Mint.com
• Kenneth Lin, CEO, CreditKarma.com
• Bob Weinschenk, CEO, SmartyPig.com

Can't attend in person? Don't miss out on this stellar line-up! Follow @SXSWfinance for live updates and questions to the panelists during the panel.

The following was a guest post by our friend Rob Garcia, Director of Product Strategy at Lending Club.

The SmartyPig team hit the road last weekend, headed to South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, and joined in the festivities to spread the word about our being the leader in the social banking space.

SXSW is a conference and festival event for entertainment and related media industry professionals. During the conference, co-founder Mike Ferrari had a chance to speak on a panel with other up-and-coming financial sites. Mike showcased our recent release of OFX integration and spoke of SmartyPig's rapid growth as one of the most innovative financial websites in global financial services today.

To say the least, the reaction has been terrific! We've been all over the online map and in the press regarding how simple and smart it is to use SmartyPig - now even more so after the OFX integration, as we've made it even easier for SmartyPig members to track their saving habits beyond SmartyPig.com. Especially in a trying economy, we understand that people want options to help them organize their finances and keep on the right track. With SmartyPig, we can even make the money go farther than ever.

We're looking forward to the upcoming months and appreciate customer feedback as we grow. We also tip our hat to the SXSW folks for including us at its most successful interactive event ever! The opportunity to speak to so many people about helping save the world by helping the world save has us itching for 2010.

Be sure to look for more exciting news in the next few weeks at SmartyPig, where Saving Will Never be the Same!

Special thanks to:

• Social Times, Kristen Nicole
• LA Times, Dan Frost
• Fast Company, Anya Kamenetz
• Venture Beat, Anthony Ha
• Shankrila.com