In-app payments are the next priority for Yolt, as it looks to expand its offering and avoid ‘app apathy’.

The money management app’s chief executive Frank Jan Risseeuw told FStech that his team is working hard on payments functionality.

“We’re currently in alpha testing on this and as always, we’re working closely with our community to make sure our end product answers user’s needs.”

Recently that community has grown, with the addition of Wealthify - its first investment provider - in October, following home insurance provider Homelyfe in September, and the likes of pensions consolidation tool PensionBee and life insurance adviser Anorak before that.

The ING-backed FinTech has already connected Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with the CMA9 biggest British banks under the Open Banking regime, which powers the app’s initial offering of letting users see real time balances from different accounts in one place.

Risseeuw explained that third party apps will soon have to offer much more than that to keep consumers interest – not least because several High Street banks’ apps now also let users pull in information from other bank accounts.

“The key to keeping a money app like Yolt relevant is ensuring that the consumers’ needs remain at the forefront of everything we do,” he stated.

“We’re committed to making Yolt a truly customisable platform, with specifically tailored deals for users,” Risseeuw continued, adding: “Education also lies at the heart of this, so whilst we provide the likes of smart insights and budgeting tools, we also offer more detailed guides, blogs and money tips to add extra value to our users, empowering them to make smarter money decisions and better manage their finances.”

Almost a year into the Open Banking experiment, there is little to show in terms of new products and services from either incumbents or FinTech disruptors, but Jan suggested that partnerships and platforms are the likely source of innovation that will benefit consumers.

“The money app market is already becoming very competitive and I definitely think we are going to see this turbocharged further in the next year,” he opined. “The digital ecosystem that is being formed is going to put an end to app juggling and will enable the development of platforms where all money needs can be answered in one, convenient, single place.

“The money apps that will succeed will be the ones who embrace this and empower their users by enabling them to create their own personalised digital ecosystem,” concluded Risseeuw.

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