NAB-owned ubank has rolled out new money saving tools aimed at younger customers in its banking app. Bill reminders and scheduling options, a feature to sync up irregular pay cycles, and customisable categories to divide funds are all included in the online space.
While most demographics are being forced to respond to cost-of-living pressures, NAB data has reinforced a TikTok trend known as “loud budgeting”. NAB Personal Banking executive Paul Riley said it is saving Gen Z Australians $450 a month on average.
“In 2024, being ‘cash conscious’ is officially cool,” he said.
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Read now“Now, the online-only bank ubank is targeting Gen Z customers with tools to help them visualise their spendings.”
“Once you know how much you’ve committed to your bills and expenses, you know what you can safely spend and what’s left over for that bigger savings goal,” ubank’s chief product and growth officer Andrew Morrison said.
“The first thing our customers want to know is how long the money they have in their ‘Spend’ account has to last till they get paid next.
“How much of my pay is already committed, what trade-offs can I make, and what’s safe to spend?”
These questions become more difficult the less frequently you are paid.
According to recent data from the ABS, 52 per cent of employees are paid fortnightly, 33 per cent are paid weekly, 12 per cent are paid monthly, and three per cent are paid quarterly or infrequently.
The app allows customers to ‘sync up’ their pay cycle, which six per cent of customers with the digital bank have already chosen to do. Over half of those people have chosen to sync up with a fortnightly payment.
“As we market this in the coming months, we expect to see many more customers engage with this feature,” Morrison said.
Customers can also set aside money for bills and schedule payments within the app.
While many pro-cash communities have expressed concern about the collection of spending and saving data by digitising banks, ubank said it aims to “improve our app offerings based on user insights” to evolve with the customer.
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