“We are still in the business of working with clients to improve their position. Like other banks, Westpac ceased manufacturing wealth and insurance products after the Hayne royal commission, but is thinking about how to provide digital advice if laws are clarified. Our customers want control and want to control the data themselves.” “Customers want simple, secure banking with relevant content for them, and obviously that means what is happening with their money and how it is organised. “If you look at this capability, it does drive a lot of stickiness,” said Westpac consumer and business banking chief executive Chris de Bruin. It will also add a feature soon that lets users compare what they are spending, on things like energy bills, to groups of similar people. Next year, Westpac will add carbon tracking and also plans to use the open banking regime to let customers connect non-Westpac accounts to the app to provide a full view of their financial affairs, and potentially to allow Westpac to switch them into products of its own. Westpac’s banking app has 3 million active users, who use it 35 times a month on average it hopes the new features will drive engagement higher. Market research firm Forrester has ranked CBA’s banking app the number one in the market for several years, but said this month that Westpac was running a “close second”, before the launch of its money management tools. ANZ also provides customers with transaction and spend analysis features. It will help Westpac catch up with rival Commonwealth Bank, which already lets customers set budgets for spending categories and shows them their monthly cashflow. Westpac’s banking app is used by 3 million customers. The “personal financial management” (PFM) technology, developed by fintech MoneyBrilliant, which Westpac bought from AMP late last year, serves financial insights to customers based on transaction account data and offers tools to set budgets and track spending. Westpac’s consumer banking boss says adding budgeting tools to its revamped banking app this week will create “stickier” customers that will be less likely to turn to fintechs, and may consider taking financial advice from the bank when a new regulatory model emerges.

Australian personal finance software