Digital Disruption Gives Consumers More Financial Power

Digital technology has unlocked many doors. From entertainment to education, the internet and everything it offers has changed the world around us. One sector that’s benefited from the digital tech revolution over the last 20+ years is finance. Corporate banks and financial institutions are the obvious benefactors, but the average consumer hasn’t been left in the dark. Today, anyone wanting to manage their money in a better way can go online and access a wealth of financial aids.

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Autosaving apps have become popular in the last three years. The premise is simple: transactions are rounded up and the excess is put into a savings account. You’re basically saving money without doing anything and, in most cases, you won’t even know it’s happening. Take an app like Monzo in the UK. This financially regulated company offers a current account, savings account, and a way to pay for goods and services. It’s also an online bank, which means everything is handled via the Monzo app.

Automation Makes Money Management Easy

A key feature of the app is wallets and autosave. Users can set up various wallets into which they can move money from their main account. Each wallet can be given a different name and savings target. Users can also lock the wallet for a set period of time or until a target is reached. In tandem with wallets, the autosave feature rounds up transactions. For example, if something costs £5.75 in the UK, Monzo would add £0.25 to the transaction and transfer that amount to your savings account. It may not be a lot, but this happens every time and these small amounts can add up to something more significant.

Within this culture of saving money, digital technology also makes it easier to find a deal. Comparison sites such as Compare the Market have been popular for the best part of two decades. However, the technology now runs much deeper. For instance, prospective homeowners can now use online calculators to find maximize their budget. The Trussle stamp duty rates holiday calculator is a perfect example of this. With the British government offering a stamp duty holiday from June 2020 to March 31, 2021, buyers could save money when buying a home. However, the calculator will be just as useful once the stamp duty holiday ends. How much they save depends on the value of the property, its location, and someone’s buying status. The calculator takes all of these variables into account.

Digital Tech Brings Fresh Perspectives to Money Matters

From this, Trussle can show someone what they’d save during the stamp duty holiday compared to what they’d pay after it ends. This is a technology that helps people to save money but in a slightly different way to Monzo et al. Instead of storing something people have already got, comparison sites and financial calculators allow people to reduce their costs. In turn, this means they’ve got more money to call their own. The result, however, is the same.

Source: Pixabay

People can use digital technology to get a better handle on their finances. Then, of course, you get things such as Bitcoin causing further disruption. Cryptocurrencies bring a fresh perspective to the concept of money and decentralized transactions. Will Bitcoin et al change the game completely? Maybe, maybe not. However, the point is that it’s another example of how digital tech is redefining money and the way we manage it.

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