US personal finance management aggregator Yodlee has released research suggesting that there’s a strong demand for PFMÂ tools in the UK.
Yodlee polled 500 people and found that over a third of respondents currently use three or more sites to look after their finances. Over half of those surveyed check their online account every week or more, and they do so for the convenience and control it gives them.
Most respondents would like to be able to make money management more convenient by using a single site and two thirds of these want that service provided by a trusted financial institution, like their bank.
65% Unaware PFM Tools Exist
A quarter of respondents say they would consider switching banks to get online PFM services in one place yet almost two thirds (65%) are unaware that such a product even exists.
It won’t be that surprising to see one of the biggest providers of PFM tools (Yodlee is the platform used by both Lovemoney.com online banking and MoneyDashboard; read more about Yodlee) is advocating the use of PFM tools here in the UK, but there have been some suggestions that there isn’t the appetite for these sorts of tools in the UK as there is in the US.
I would disagree. I think there is a decent size market for PFM tools out there, but the key point has been made in the research – they need to be pushed by the trusted financial institutions, which realistically means our banks (do people still trust banks?).
Regardless of the actual risks, there is still too much scepticism about handing over account details to a third party, especially when they’re essentially based outside the UK as in the case of Yodlee, and when they have some scary looking terms & conditions.
running all of finances on your mobile could get tricky so no doubt norton antivirus have developed anti android hacking software etc