By Amanda Morrall
Budget Planner, Westpac's fifth and latest app for iPhone, is a sign of the times.
With a 500% increase in mobile banking usage in the past six months alone, banks, including Westpac, are barreling into this space.
Callum Wilson, Westpac's general manager of strategy, productivity and innovation, said whilst mobile banking remains most popular among those under 25 (a quarter of which use it on a regular basis), the number of 25-50 year olds switching to mobile banking is doubling every quarter.
Westpac plans on releasing a sixth app in a month's time and is working on an expanded version of budget planner so that its bank customers can compare their budgets with actual spending and savings habits. Budget Planner, in its current form, is not wed to actual transactions.
Wilson said the current version, while basic, would likely appeal to a segment of the population that would not ordinarily budget.
In a recent survey sponsored by the bank, close to half of all those polled confessed they either didn't know how or couldn't stick to a budget.
Around 32% of households surveyed by Westpac said they experienced financial difficulties on a weekly basis.
Too hard, too long, too boring
“We all know how important it is to have some basic plan about where you are going, and yet for thousands of people it’s either too hard, too long or just too boring to do," said Wilson.
The bank’s survey also found that only 22% of New Zealanders have received budget advice or training.
"The great majority of people don't have a budget so this (app) is designed as a simple tool that's approachable for a lot of people," said Wilson.
"It's a very simple budgeting application. It's designed to make it a little easier and a little more fun."
Users can enter their actual budgets or draw from a pre-populated amount based on household data collected by the bank.
Goal setting
The app also allows users to set saving goals so that expenses can be adjusted accordingly.
Westpac is currently recording 1.2 million log-ins and transactions via mobile per month, a strong indicator of where the future of banking is.
"We see an exciting future ahead; to take a whole lot of information that people collect as they go about their daily lives and find ways to present it and visualise it for people. We see that as a big change for banking over the next several years and we'll work our way through providing that functionality for people on mobile phones and with on-line banking.''
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