According to a recent Yolt survey, despite the majority of respondents (61%) claiming to have had positive intentions to save money during the Covid-19 crisis, in reality only 35% have actually managed to increase their savings habits. Almost three quarters (72%) plan to keep a close eye on their spending over the next six months, and over half plan to set strict budgets for themselves.

Launched three years ago, award winning app* Yolt has been on a mission to empower everyone to be smart with their money by harnessing the power of Open Banking and giving its 1.5 million users one clear view of their finances. Yolt users can connect their accounts from the likes of American Express, HSBC, Monzo and Barclays in one central place, being able to easily track their spending, set budgets and identify where they could cut back.

Now, in light of the new financial landscape brought on by the pandemic and subsequent shift in consumers’ financial priorities, Yolt will be evolving its current proposition and entering beta to test a series of new and free features, geared towards helping users spend smart and grow their savings during these uncertain times.

The new iteration of the app will build on the already existing features which include account aggregation via APIs, enabling users to see their multiple accounts and manage their budgets, in one central place. On top of this, in app partners such as MoneySuperMarket, Raisin and Wealthify enable Yolt users to switch and save on household bills, find competitive interest rates and find suitable investment opportunities.

Pauline van Brakel, Chief Product Officer, Yolt, comments:
“The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed our relationship with money. With this new financial landscape that is taking shape, spending smart and saving money has never been more important. Our research shows that consumers are aware of this, but that they are still struggling to save despite their good intentions.

“We want to make smart spending and growing savings achievable for everyone, whatever their financial situation, helping people to reach their personal life goals in ways that are effortless and tailored to them, whether that’s freeing up money for a safety net, stashing some cash for Christmas or saving for that house deposit a few years down the road.

“The pandemic has just reinforced our brand mission to empower Yolt users to be smart with their money. But we also recognise that the crisis has created many additional financial pressures for consumers. Therefore, we believe this new landscape and the changing needs of consumers, calls for an evolved app. We are committed to helping people find a new way of balancing spending and saving, during these increasingly challenging times.”

Yolt’s beta phase will be available for UK iOS users first, with more details on the new features to be revealed in the coming weeks.