UK digital bank first direct has begun trialling an app that lets people see account information from all of their providers, as well as get money management tips and product suggestions - including from third parties.
First direct is working with fintech startup Bud on the pilot, which is part of parent firm HSBC's open banking strategy and marks the first time a major UK bank has made third party products available to customers.
The artha app allows users to bring accounts from the UK’s largest banks together in one place and categorise their spending data.
Then, based on the categorised data the app can analyse people’s needs to help them to find relevant financial products. For example, if the app saw that someone was paying a disproportionate amount for electricity, it could introduce them to utility switching services.
The marketplace will contain products and services from providers in areas such as investing and credit cards, with American Express, Nutmeg, Wealthify, MoneyFarm, and Flipper among those available during the pilot.
Uttiyo Dasgupta, head, transactional banking, HSBC, says: “The banking sector needs to innovate to meet changing customer needs, and at HSBC we’re investing significantly in digital innovation.
"Customer centric platforms like artha form part of HSBC’s wider Open Banking strategy, and allows us to test, learn and develop new services in a live environment and then deploy the new technologies at scale."