Nude lets couples ‘Team-up’ to see each other’s savings progress

First-time buyers scrambling to save for a home are used to poring over each other's finances as they work to save every penny for that much-needed deposit.

But maybe not for much longer.

Nude, the finance app specifically for first-time buyers, is today launching a ‘Team-up’ feature that instantly gives couples (or friends, or family members) the ability to view each other’s Lifetime ISA balance, and how close they are to a collective savings goal. 

“Before, people buying a home together would have separate apps, who-saved-what spreadsheets and the whole thing would be so disjointed that it would take all the fun out of it,” said Nude CEO and founder Crawford Taylor.

“With ‘Team up’ we want building a deposit together to feel collaborative and exciting.”

Obviously, the caveat is that this isn’t an Open Banking feature, instead both parties must be using Nude’s own Lifetime ISA to save, which may or may not suit their savings plans.

Nude’s stocks and shares Lifetime ISA gives savers tax-free access to BlackRock’s MyMap 5 Select ESG Fund, with the help of the government’s 25 per cent top-up, although it comes with a £2/month charge plus 0.35 per cent/year platform fee and 0.17 per cent/year product fee.

Nude has been under fire for its fee structure recently, The Sunday Times recently reported that its Cash LISA would result in a £19/year loss if someone added the full £4,000 given it only pays 0.1 per cent interest and costs £2/month.

“Our customers pay £2 a month, not for our Lifetime ISA, but for a Nude membership. With that membership, they get access to all of the current and upcoming features in our app, plus exclusive content," Taylor told AltFi, responding to The Sunday Times story.

"Our customers will not pay an additional £2 a month if they also open one of our upcoming ISA or General Accounts. The £2 a month is not a cost directly associated with the Lifetime ISA, and therefore the subheading ‘Nude’s Lifetime ISAs cost £2 a month’ is factually incorrect and the price comparison between Nude and other finance apps like Moneybox and Hargreaves Lansdown is not like-for-like."

"For anyone to say we’re a savings app that makes you lose money is not a true (or fair) reflection of what we offer, and look forward to the story being corrected.”