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Online financial management has increased tremendously with easy-to-use apps for banking, investing, budgeting, and more.
Key Takeaways
Today’s consumers have an app for everything. Managing their utilities, communicating with friends, finding a ride—everything can be done on their mobile devices. Most of your clients require an app to manage their finances, too. One survey found that 76% of Americans now bank through a mobile app.
Here is an overview of what personal finance apps are, eight key benefits of financial apps, and a few examples of quality apps for financial tasks.
What are finance apps?
The days when banking is done in person, with a banker, and with a lot of paper being pushed around are on their way out. Everything can now be done online, whether viewing balances, transferring funds, sending instant payments, opening accounts, or investing.
Personal finance apps make all of these activities easier. These are applications people can either access on a browser or download to their tablets or smartphones, and they usually have very simple interfaces that were developed with convenience in mind. They generally don’t require any technical or financial knowledge to use, and institutions ranging from banks to credit unions to investment firms all offer apps.
Some apps aren’t for directly handling money but provide overviews of users’ entire financial situation, including their credit score, account balances, and goal tracking. They can also help people set up and stick to budgets.
8 benefits of financial apps
There’s a reason finance apps have taken off. They’re super convenient and easy to use, so people don’t have to think too much about managing their finances. Here are some key benefits:
1. Access info from anywhere
Probably the biggest benefit of financial apps is their accessibility. Whether at work, traveling, or far from a computer, users can make changes and updates right from their mobile device, as long as they have an internet connection.
2. Deposit checks
Many bank apps now allow users to deposit a physical check through the app. You simply take a photo of the front and back of the check, upload it, and the deposit is submitted. This saves a lot of time instead of having to do it in person.
3. Save time
It can be quite a pain to have to travel to a bank, which is usually only open during regular working hours, just to make a transaction or view an account balance. With a financial app, everything can be done whenever a user thinks about it, and they don’t have to go anywhere. You don’t have to wait in long lines at the bank just to make a deposit or an online payment.
4. Stay organized
When people can keep tabs on their finances daily with information right at their fingertips, they’re more likely to stay on top of personal finances and stay organized. Apps allow for nearly real-time accuracy so there’s never any question about an account balance. All income and expenses can be monitored with ease and efficiency.
5. Manage business finances
Apps aren’t just for personal finances. Financial apps help business owners manage accounting, reporting, and cash flow. Budgets can be set up and tracked, payable and receivable accounts can be monitored, and reports can be pulled and viewed in moments. These benefits help businesses stay on track, and the added visibility helps them make better business decisions.
6. Access everything in one place
Aside from banking and financial institution apps where you can make transactions, there are also budgeting and financial management apps that combine all your open accounts in one place, including retirement savings and other investments, checking and savings accounts, credit cards, assets, and debts. It’s much easier to view your financial standing with all this information in one simple app.
7. Use automation
Many of these apps also send push notifications to mobile devices. This means users can be alerted if there is suspicious activity on an account, an account balance is getting dangerously low, or their credit score is going up or down. Users can also set up alerts and reminders for important dates like bill due dates and tax deadlines so they never miss anything.
8. Monitor goal progress
By setting up goals on financial apps, users can stay on top of their progress. This boosts motivation, and it’s very satisfying to see a savings account balance increase or a debt account decrease each month. Apps allow users to create and track goals and make changes as needed.
Examples of great financial apps
There are all kinds of apps out there to manage money, view investments, set up budgets, and more. Here are a few examples of apps that are easy to use and understand:
Mint
Mint is an app backed by Intuit that helps people set budgets, track income and expenses, and view current standings for all accounts, assets, and debts. It also keeps users’ credit scores updated. It’s free to use and has a simple interface for mobile devices, so everything is clear and organized in one place. Another perk of this app is that users who already use TurboTax, which is also an Intuit offering, can link Mint with their TurboTax account for easier data input.
Fidelity Retirement Score
Fidelity Investments is a large financial services company, but you don’t have to be a client to use their Fidelity Retirement Score app. Using the app, you answer six questions about your retirement savings, and then the app shows you numbers about your possible outcomes. You can change certain variables to see what you will have saved when retirement comes based on your approach to investing (riskier vs. safer) and when you want to retire. You can access the tool from any browser.
Robinhood
Robinhood is a popular app for investing and is especially enticing to people who want a quick and easy way to trade. It can be used for trading stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrency, and more, and it is free and very simple to use. There are no commissions on trades, and the interface is smooth and easy to navigate. The app also includes a feed for users so they can see the latest investing news and trends.
SecureSave
SecureSave is an emergency savings account app where employees can set up and manage their accounts, and access money whenever they need to. Employers do the initial setup for their employees and can also decide to match contributions. The interface is very easy to use and is a huge benefit for employers and employees alike, since many people aren’t prioritizing their emergency savings.
Sign up for SecureSave to learn more about all the benefits we offer.