Exclusive: neobank Coconut ditches current accounts for open banking strategy

Neobank Coconut has now stopped opening new current accounts and is doubling down on bank statement feeds through open banking, AltFi can exclusively reveal.

Coconut is launching a new app as part of its open banking pivot that will capitalise on being a banking hub, meaning any freelancer can now use Coconut, regardless of existing banking arrangements.

It allows freelancers to track income, claim expenses and work out how much tax they owe throughout the year by connections with 25+ bank accounts and credit card providers, and automatically pull in bank statements and transactions.

Sam O’Connor, CEO & Co-founder of Coconut says he doesn't believe that combining a current account with a tax tool is the best solution for freelancers.

"Open banking has completely transformed the financial landscape, and by requiring customers to switch to your bank account, you limit their choice and risk not meeting their needs," he said.

"Most self-employed people have business transactions in their personal accounts or credit cards. Using open banking, we can help them unmuddle these two worlds; and by ensuring they have real-time information at their fingertips, keeping on top of their finances will require much less manual effort from both them and their accountants,” he added.

Coconut has raised £9m from over 6,000 investors through Crowdcube, in three campaigns.