Chip, a chatbot app that links to a bank account and automatically saves based on your spending behaviour, has closed £1.1m of funding on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.
Saving limits are reassessed every few days, before being sent to an instant access savings account hosted by Barclays Bank PLC. Chip currently claims 30,000 active users and has processed £6.7m worth of transactions, setting its sights on 500,000 active users by 2020.
The app initially set itself a target of a £600k raise, but has blasted its way past that as it seeks to raise funds to apply for a banking license in the near future. This latest fundraise is part of a larger £2.4m round, set to close next year.
Although Chip has no intention of offering a current account, a banking license is thought to be necessary for Chip to develop a new suite of products for users that capitalise on Open Banking regulations.
According to TechCrunch, this offering will include an alternative to an existing current account overdraft with a lower and more flexible interest rate, a product which has already entered beta testing.
Speaking to the news site, Chip founder and CEO Simon Rabin said: “In order to offer the customer a 10x better product experience, you can’t just resell them the existing market. All that makes you is a slightly better money supermarket!
Commenting on the plans for a banking license: “We learnt this summer that customers love the smart credit functionality but we can’t make it viable within the existing wholesale funding market.”
