Cutting-edge banking tech could create a world of super savvy savers

By Tara McCabe · · 3 min read
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In the past, a bank was simply a place that looked after your pennies. Nowadays with ever improving tech and data collection, it’s so much more.

Twenty years ago, bank balances could only be viewed via an ATM, in a bank branch or by way of a posted bank statement. Now you can check your money every few minutes through a mobile banking app. On top of this, a number of banks offer other features to help you review your incomings and outgoings. These include financial insights with fancy graphs, spending trackers, automatic bank transfers and round-ups.

To add to that, in the last ten years fintech virtuosos have developed apps specifically to help users build up a rainy day fund. 

One such app available in Australia is Pocketbook. We spoke with the company’s head of product, Tamim Noorzad to find out more about the app and the future of banking tech.

The full 360

Noorzad says Pocketbook provides Australians with a full 360 of their finances. 

“Users can securely connect bank accounts from multiple banking institutions inside the app, which works auto-magically to set budgets and categorise their spending,” he says.

Other handy features Noorzad mentions include the ability to:

  • analyse spend by category and value
  • set savings goals 
  • receive reminders for bills and recurring payments
  • access ‘a whole host of tips and tricks’ to help you save money.

Noorzad adds that users will soon also be able to connect their super and investment accounts as well. 

Read our round-up of seven budgeting and savings apps for more information about Pocketbook and other similar applications.

Open Banking a catalyst for change

On the subject of open banking and banking tech, Noorzad says, “Providing consumers with greater freedom over their data and creating more competition in the banking tech space can only be a good thing.”

Open Banking, which Australia has been moving towards for the past few years, simply means more transparency and open data in the banking sector. Part of this is CDR (Consumer Data Right) launched in July 2020. This is an opt-in service overseen by the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission), which will allow Australians to share their data more easily with their financial providers.

So, as you can see sharing data with budgeting and savings apps will likely be a lot smoother. This in turn will hopefully give savers a more holistic view of their finances. It’s easy to see why apps such as Pocketbook are happy to embrace the changes.

“Allowing users to share their own data safely and securely will mean more seamless, richer insights, adding a whole new layer of personalisation to banking tech,” Noorzad says.

Knowledge is power

The more banking tech improves, the more savers will have access to insights, data and tips on how to take control of their finances. In fact, Noorzad even gave us a sneak peek into what Pocketbook has planned for the rest of the year.

“We have a whole roadmap of new product updates to unleash this year to ensure our users get the best financial deals, have access to the best saving secrets and can assess their financial health score to meet their life aspirations and dreams,” he says.

All these new developments leave us wondering: could all this lead to a world of super savvy savers?

On that note we’ll leave you with a few other personal finance apps to have a look at:

If you’re a banking tech lover, you’ll surely want to check them out. Or if you want to read more about fintech in general, head over to our fintech hub for all the latest news.

^The Mozo Experts Choice Awards are conducted yearly to highlight market-leading financial products in Australia. Check out the methodology report to read more about these particular awards.

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