Thanks to open banking, fintech early adopters likely already have accounts that round up transactions to boost savings or connect to third-party tools for loan applications, budget management and more. But the new wave of fintech startups are proving there's much more that can be done using open banking, the two-year-old mandate from UK regulators that required banks to easily allow their customers to share their data with third parties such as apps. "Open banking offers people the chance to get personalised, tailored support to help them manage their money by allowing regulated companies to securely analyse their bank data," says Lubaina Manji, senior programme manager at Nesta Challenges, one of the organisations behind the Open Up 2020 Challenge, alongside the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE). "It's enabled the creation of new services and tools to help people with every aspect of money management – from budgeting to investing, and much, much more, all in a safe and secure way." And some of the innovations from finalists in the Open Up 2020 Challenge have surprised with their ingenuity and customer focus, she says, citing Sustainably's round-up tool for automated charity donations, and Kalgera's neuroscience-informed AI to help spot fraud targeting people with dementia – two projects that highlight the purpose-driven idea behind open banking and the aim to get financial support to show who need it the most.

Fifteen fintechs have secured funding to develop innovative solutions that use open banking to transform how the nation manages its finances. The 15 finalists' ideas offer a range of services, from a digital debt adviser and a personal finance chatbot, to a solution that prevents people from going into their overdrafts, a fraud prevention tool, and even a tool to make it easier to get a mortgage. An AI assistant with a sense of humour which helps Gen Z/ Millennials budget, save and track their spending. "We are delighted to be finalists in the Open Up 2020 Challenge. Cleo is here to make money management less elitist, more accessible and informative – transforming the'money thing' into something radically different. Financial advice and education is missing from retail banking, and from Government. Our aim is to give people the confidence to discuss their finances the same way they share gym habits or how they have their coffee, and we know when we have won when it's finally normal to talk about money."