They’ve all made it through a rigorous selection process to enter the Think Forward Initiative’s (TFI’s) Growth Track, all with the ultimate aim to improve consumers’ financial health.

In the five-month Growth Track, TFI’s dedicated team of organisers, mentors and experts will help the start-ups optimise their business and define their future direction. They will be matched with relevant business units at TFI’s various corporate partners and their clients to set up pilot projects. The goal of the Growth Track is to help these start-ups, each with at least 7,000 active users, to grow faster.

The Think Forward Initiative, what is that again?

TFI, started by ING and partners in 2015, aims to gain a deeper understanding of the behaviour behind financial decision-making and then harness those insights to help people make healthier financial decisions. Decisions that are not only better for them, but better for society, too.

It has a Research Hub that ‘discovers’ insights and issues, and an Accelerator Hub that uses innovation to ‘solve’ them. It comes together with a Community Hub, where members connect and collaborate, and where the insights and innovations are communicated to consumers.

TFI is one way ING is working to help people become more financially healthy, which is part of our sustainability direction. Financially healthy people can pay their bills, have savings set away, are planning for retirement, can manage financial shocks and are generally happier because they can better reach their goals. Plus, we believe financially healthy people contribute to a healthy economy and help drive social progress.

Here are the start-ups:

AdviceRobo

AdviceRobo analyses consenting customers’ behavioural data and results from psychographic testing to paint a clearer picture of their creditworthiness.

Dyme

Dyme imports all of your fixed expenses securely and quickly to give one clear overview of what you’re paying every month.

Mitto

Mitto is a prepaid card for young people from 14 years old. Parents can use the app to add money to the card instantly. It makes budgeting easier for parents while teaching kids the value of money.

Monkee

Monkee helps users define savings goals and receive weekly targets to make them come true.

OpSeeker

OpSeeker creates apps based on behavioural economics and gamification. They use technologies such as artificial intelligence and an in-house developed chatbot in order to improve customers’ financial health.

Pirkx

Pirkx: Benefits packages through work are usually only available to employees, meaning that self-employed or contract workers didn’t get access to them. Until now. Pirkx is the benefits package that’s available to everyone.

Salary Finance

Salary Finance helps employers offer their employees simple savings, access to their salary as it’s earned, and affordable loans - all underpinned by accessible, engaging financial education.

Tully

Tully starts by helping customers build a budget online, so they understand exactly what their money situation is, and then helps them work out a plan to make the most of their money.