First Direct has enlisted open banking specialist Bud to add transaction categorisation and merchant identification services to its mobile app.
Bud's data enrichment capabilities are being used to put transactions into one of more than 100 categories whilst the merchant identification service can recognise around 3000 UK firms and will display logos for the majority of the transactions it recognises.
Writing about the changes on LinkedIn, First Direct head of innovation and partnerships Saira Khan says customers will start seeing the features soon.
The change is also just the beginning of the First Direct app revamp, says Khan: "It provides customers valuable insight into their spending and provides the business with a set of flexible and robust insights to underpin a suite of exciting new features scheduled for release later this year.
"This is a key step to launching a brand First Direct mobile app which aims to ’challenge the challengers’ and promote the Financial Wellness of first directs customers."
First Direct has been working with Bud since 2018, when they launched a proof-of-concept app called artha, which ran for a year in the FCA Sandbox and tested a number of features including financial management tools and third-party product marketplace functionality.