Comments from True Potential Managing Partner, David Harrison
First published on Personal Finance Today.
In our recent ‘Tackling the Savings Gap’ consumer attitudes survey, we asked how people intended to purchase a New ISA and the answers highlight a shift away from high-street branches to online. The largest number of respondents (34 per cent) said online, while just 17 per cent said directly from their bank.
Similarly, when asked where they go to for financial advice, Britons also selected online in large numbers. Thirty three per cent say they perform an Internet search, rising to 47 per cent in the 25-34 year old male demographic.
Recent research from the British Bankers Association (BBA) supports the prominence of mobile and online banking, with tech-savvy Britons making almost £1 billion worth of online banking and mobile transactions each day. More than three in four people are using online banking at least once a month and one in ten log into an internet banking service each day.
I have argued for some time that technology has the power to completely change the industry by getting people engaged with their finances. There is no question that online is the place where many Britons choose to manage their finances and providing the tools to do so in a simple and effective way is vital.
At True Potential, we empower our clients to take control of their money. Through our responsive client site and our mobile apps, we give people 24/7, real time access to their account information and allow them to track their progress against their goals whenever and wherever they choose. They can also link up bank accounts and any assets held elsewhere to give them a complete view of their net worth, all in one location. We are already seeing a surge in popularity for our mobile technology – as of this month, close to 20,000 iOS and Android apps have been downloaded and this continues to grow daily.
As an industry, we need to continue to look for ways to make saving and investing part of everyday life. Why does an investment purchase need to be any different than any other purchase you may wish to make on your smart phone or tablet? We don’t believe it should. This is why we recently launched our new True Potential Investor online investment service. Included as part of the service is impulseSave®, our first-of-its-kind technology that allows clients to add to their investments at the touch of a button. They can invest with as little as £1 at anytime and from anywhere in the world. Rather than spending on impulse, people can now save on impulse and get one click closer to their goals.
Delivering these products in a quick and easy way, via the devices that clients already use on a daily basis, will not only help to close the savings gap but also create a new generation of tech-savvy savers who are much better prepared for their future.
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