New money app goes live as open banking excitement builds

ING-backed Yolt is the latest digital banking challenger to enter the UK market.

Yolt, a new money platform owned by Dutch bank ING, has today launched in open beta for Android and iOS. The app is designed to give users a new way of managing their money online.

Yolt enters into an increasingly crowded UK market, with well-backed players such as Revolut and Monzo well on their way to a million users. The new app has been in closed beta mode since October of last year, and is now ready to bring more users onto the platform.

Following the blueprint for a digital money platform, Yolt gives users a unified view of all of their bank accounts and credit cards, enabling them access to spending analytics and budgeting functionality.

The firm has stated its intention to partner with other fintechs in order to add new features to the app, suggesting that it will take a marketplace-based approach to recommending third party products.

The first of these new features is an energy price comparison offering, delivered in partnership with Runpath. The partnership allows Yolt to alert its users whenever they might want to consider switching energy providers. The app is also partnered with Moneytis, a money transfer comparison site.

“In modern life, the phrase ‘time is money’ has never felt more apt. But fewer people have either the time or the desire to actually look after their money effectively,” said Jan Risseuw, CEO of Yolt. “Instant gratification is the norm - people want convenience, speed, and customisation. Yolt understands that. We’re a mobile app, designed to change the way people think about their finances, and harness the power of open banking to make it easier for people to focus on the other things in life.”

Yolt says that its launch brings the UK market one step closer to Open Banking. We’re now almost exactly six months out from the advent of phase two of Open Banking, which is set for January 2018.

Roger Vincent, head of banking and innovation at credit reference agency Equifax, recently said that this next phase of Open Banking will “dramatically change the customer banking experience”.

The scheme has so far provided improved access to information such as ATM locations and product listings. Phase two will make bank transaction data for individuals and businesses accessible via APIs – with the agreed consent of these customers.

“The ability for transaction data to be used for automated creditworthiness and affordability assessments, fraud detection and product accessibility is endless,” said Vincent. “Customers will be able to control how their financial data is shared digitally and provide a deeper picture of the way they manage their money.”