KeyBank announced new offerings this week, including an automatic savings tool called EasyUp. That tool automatically transfers money from checking to savings accounts after every debit card purchase, a product similar to the autosave features of personal finance startups and digital-only banks.
Michael Wesley, the director of consumer payments at KeyBank, told Bank Innovation the tool does more than just help with customer acquisition; it helps the bank develop a deeper relationship with current customers. The bank also rolled out overdraft protection and a 2% cashback credit card.
KeyBank is the latest bank to fold personal finance features into its mobile app, taking a page from personal finance startups and digital-only banks. N26 and Monzo, for example, both have tools designed to encourage customers to save. Simple, which was acquired by BBVA in 2014, has featured a Safe-to-Spend tool that allows customers to automatically set aside money for certain goals. In addition, Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank acquired a company called Dobot, a Digit-like tool that analyzes users’ spending and automatically sets aside money. The Royal Bank of Canada‘s NOMI Find and Save does the same.
As legacy institutions build up their personal finance feature sets, a challenge they may face is the ability to acquire new users who already may be using apps or platforms that offer similar functions. If customers are already happy with a third-party personal finance app, they would need a compelling reason to use another similar product from a bank, said Brian Wolfe, professor of finance at the University of Buffalo, in a recent interview with Bank Innovation.
KeyBank, which is headquartered in Cleveland and has more than $141 billion in assets, has embedded the EasyUp feature into its mobile and online banking platforms. Customers must have a KeyBank checking and savings account to access the feature. Once activated, the tool transfers $1 from checking to savings every time customers use their debit card. By the end of the year, Wesley said the bank will allow customers to automatically pay off debts with the money accumulated through EasyUp, as well as designate an auto-save amount of their choice.
See also: Anthemis’ Williams: Fintechs in a race to become customers’ primary financial provider
KeyBank’s rollout of EasyUp is part of a trend among banks to turn their apps into multi-service platforms, taking on features startups would roll out as single-product offerings. “We’re definitely seeing the rebundling [of products and services] in how everyone is trying to ‘own the customer,'” Jillian Williams, investment principal at Anthemis Group, recently told Bank Innovation. “Owning the customer means owning the savings and checking accounts.”




