Fintech App Boom: easyMoney Launches New App for Enhanced User Experience
The use of fintech apps is rocketing and easyMoney responds with a new app for users. Half of easyMoney’s investors access their accounts via a mobile device and now the platform has created a free app, as part of its wider plan to make the service as user-friendly as possible. Using a mobile to access financial services is relatively new but since the start of the coronavirus pandemic its use has rocketed.
As millions of us were unable to access bank branches due to lockdowns, this led to a huge rise in mobile use, of all kinds of financial apps. It’s also led to a surge in investment of fintech apps and the number of apps available, for everything from checking a current account to keeping an eye on how your investments are performing.
At the start of the pandemic, there was a 72 per cent rise in the use of financial apps in Europe, at a time when many sectors were struggling. While we weren’t able to see people in person and do the things we were used to, technology stepped in allowing us to carry on our lives with the help of the internet. From Zoom calls to online shopping, the internet was used by most of us at a time when we couldn’t leave our homes and interact with people in person.
Two years on many of us are still working from home and have carried on using the methods of working – and living – we adopted during lockdowns.
Technology has clearly changed the way we use many traditional services, and the past two years has helped to speed up the adoption due to the changing nature of how we are living and working.
Analysis of easyMoney investors
Analysis of easyMoney investors revealed that half were accessing the website from a mobile device, and therefore creating a mobile app was the obvious option for making this process easier and simpler for users. Many users also check their account balance a number of times a day, therefore creating an app would give them one place to quickly view their balance and all of their account information in one place.
Free easyMoney app
The free easyMoney app was launched at the start of 2022 and it’s available on both Apple and Android devices. It was created as a direct response to what investors in the peer-to-peer platform were asking for, a user-friendly way to access their investments.
Jamie Learmonth, chief technology officer at easyMoney, said: “It’s been on the roadmap, pretty much from day one and it became a priority internally once the demand became apparent.
“We wanted to first get people using our service on the web and then we started to see how many of those people were actually visiting the website on their mobile. We took that user feedback and used that to develop a much simpler mobile experience through the app.”
The app is just one step in making the platform as easy as possible for users to access. During the design process, the aim was to bring at least 80 per cent of the website’s functionality to the app and to make it as intuitive as possible.
The pandemic has clearly fuelled the recent rise in fintech apps but the introduction of open banking has also been a major factor.
It allows financial providers to access users’ banking and financial data - if they are allowed by the user - and it was introduced under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 which brought the second EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) into law.
Thanks to the integration of open banking, users can quickly view their account details and invest and withdraw funds via the app. It’s also a place for new customers accessing the platform for the first time to sign up.
Learmonth, who has been with the platform since its inception in 2017, adds: “In general, the fintech and finance space have moved more and more towards mobile, where traditionally you might have said that people prefer to handle their financial affairs on a computer.
“But now, people expect your service to be very easy to use via a modern mobile app to even remain relevant. We’ve spoken to some younger investors who actually choose their providers based on the quality of their mobile apps.”
All the facts and figures presented are accurate at the time of posting.
easyMoney is not a cash savings account. You may not get back the full amount you put in. Your capital is at risk if you invest. Peer-to-peer investments are eligible for an Innovative Finance ISA which is not a Cash ISA. They are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Money invested through easyMoney is concentrated in property and could be affected by market conditions. For the same reason, instant access cannot be guaranteed. We do not offer investment or tax advice.
easyMoney is the trading name of E-money Capital Ltd, a company incorporated in England & Wales. Registered office is 5 Fleet Place, London, England, EC4M 7RD (Company No. 04861007). E-money Capital Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) #231680.