Hey, we’ve got someone new to introduce you to: Hay! Founded in 2018, Hay is a Sydney-based fintech (and soon to be neobank) aiming to bring fast, simplified, mobile banking to Aussie customers.

While Hay may be one of the freshest faces in Australia, the team behind them are anything but. They’ve spent over 18 months developing Hay behind closed doors and many (including those in Hay’s London and Belfast offices) have firsthand experience in the UK digital banking scene. 

The result? A sleek, feature-packed app and a prepaid Hay Visa card which are already being offered via a waitlist to Hay’s 10,000 founding members. And the good news is there are still founding member spots open, so you can sign up too! 

Hay are only just getting started though. They’ve already got an AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence), and they’re seriously close to obtaining a Restricted Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (RADI) Licence which is the next step in becoming a fully fledged bank. 

So don’t be surprised for Hay to release their digital bank account in the (very) near future, followed by a savings account down the line and a whole heap of new app features and tools along the way. But more on Hay’s products and app below.

Hay has already announced its very own prepaid Hay Card and linked Hay Account. The waitlist is open now and will soon open accounts. And as we mentioned above, the Hay digital bank account is set to be the first banking product Hay releases followed by a savings account sometime in the future.

Hay Card and Hay Account

Both the Hay Prepaid Visa Card and linked Hay Transaction Account can signed up for and accessed through the Hay mobile app, though (of course) you’ll also receive a physical copy of your Hay Card which you can use for in-person purchases and ATM withdrawals.

Because it’s a prepaid card you’ll need to load funds into your Hay Account from another bank, but once you’ve done that you’ll be able to use your Hay Card in Australia and overseas wherever Visa is accepted, including to withdraw money from ATMs. You can also use your Hay Account (though the app) to send money to your friends and family.

When it comes to fees, Hay is off to a great start. There are zero monthly account fees, foreign transaction fees and, unlike most banks and institutions, Hay doesn’t charge any additional currency conversion fees. You can also withdraw cash for free at any major bank ATM in Australia and at any overseas ATM up to $500 in a calendar month. Any overseas withdrawals above $500 will incur a fee of 1.5% of the withdrawal amount, and it’s also worth remembering that some ATM providers will also charge their own fee.

There are also a few caps with the Hay Card and Hay Account. The maximum account balance you can currently hold is $15,000, there’s a maximum top up amount of $10,000 per day and a maximum cash withdrawal limit of $1,000 per day.

Hay may have only just launched, but they’ve already developed an app chock full of features (including some Australian firsts) designed to make life easier when it comes to everyday finances and managing money overseas. Would you expect anything less from a mobile-focused fintech? Here are some of the standouts.

Gone are the days of boring transaction statements which read more like an accounting ledger than a useful summary of your spending. In fact, Hay has gone down the route of creating an app that’s more like a hybrid between a banking app and a budgeting app… but one that’s actually built for the 2020’s. Some of the features include:

• Auto categorisation: Transactions are automatically categorised into subcategories like food, transport and accomodation so you can see exactly where you’re spending your money in real-time. You can then zoom into these subcategories to look at exactly where you’ve been spending the most (e.g. your local cafe or pub) and then even further by viewing an individual merchant to see exactly how much you’ve spent with them, when and where you made each purchase and even your average spend!

• Merchant logos: Hay displays each transaction with a merchant logo next to it (e.g. Coles, Caltex, Toby’s Estate etc.) so there’s no more ambiguity about where you’ve actually spent. 

• Monthly reports: Hay will give you a clear picture as to whether your budget is on track by pinging you with monthly spending reports.
  

We’ve already mentioned some of the ways Hay is making overseas spending fee-free with the Hay Card and Account, but Hay has also designed its app with some travel-friendly features.

• Smart travel mode: In what may be an Australia-first feature, travellers heading overseas won’t need to call up or log into their app to let Hay know that they’re about to jump on a plane abroad. Something that plenty of us have forgotten to do in the past and ended up with a locked card. Instead, Hay’s app is actually smart enough to know when you’ve left Australia, so it will change to ‘travel mode’ as soon as you land in another country. 

• Transactions in AUD and foreign currency: Transactions in the Hay app are displayed in both the local currency and in AUD so you can see exactly how much you’re spending, and whether you’re keeping to your budget. Hay also wants to be transparent as possible, which is why it shows the exact currency conversion rate you’ll get for each transaction.

• Freeze card in-app: Ever misplaced your card overseas? It’s not a pleasant experience, but with the Hay app you’ll be able to freeze and unfreeze your card with a simple swipe. Plus if you need additional support you’ll be able to chat with a Hay team member and even cancel or re-order a card in-app.
  

While it’s not an app-specific feature, Hay has created a unique way for users to get access to their latest app and products features first: become a founding member. There’s no cost to becoming a founding member, in fact it’s just a matter of being one of the first 10,000 people to sign up, and aside from getting early access and potentially having a say in future features, early adopters will also receive a limited-edition founding members card along with other benefits for the life of the account.

As you'd expect from a fintech and aspiring neobank, Hay are pretty keen to give their customers the latest digital options with which they can pay. Hay users can leave their physical wallet and card at home and pay with their smartphones after linking their Hay card with either Apple Pay or Google Pay. 

Love the concept of banking without the stress? Chances are if you’re sold on the idea of using a simple, mobile-only platform for your finances then a fintech like Hay, which has already developed an impressive app and is only set to grow further (both in terms of features and products) once it obtains its banking licences, could be a great fit for you. 

Hay fully intends to join the likes of 86 400, Up, Volt Bank and Xinja as the next neobank to make its mark on the Australian banking scene as a competitive player equipped with the latest tools designed to cater for a new generation of Aussie customers. And they’re planning to do it quickly.

That means that you may not have to wait long for Hay to release its next wave of features, including its bank account, so if you want to make sure you get the benefits of being a Founding Member then it may pay off to sign up before the 10,000 early adopter spots fill up. 

Hay isn’t going to be the right fit for everyone though. As a mobile-focused fintech, Hay are not currently offering (nor are they likely to offer) some of the services you’d expect from a more traditional bank e.g. branches and over the counter service or even a web-based banking platform. Nor does Hay currently have the full suite of products (like home loans or credit cards) typically available with a traditional bank.

As you’d hope from a fintech, you’ll be able to sign up to Hay without breaking a sweat. Simply head on over to their website and enter your mobile number to join the waitlist. You’ll then receive a text message with a link to either the Apple App or Google Play store (depending on the type of phone you use), which you’ll then be able to use to download the Hay app! 

Just remember that you’ll need to be an Australian resident over the age of 16 to be able to sign up to Hay.