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.

Can a chatbot help you manage your money? Three London-based fintech startups are betting on the answer being yes and have jumped aboard the messaging gravy train as they seek to entice millennials to their respective platforms. The thinking goes something like this: A conversational interface, coupled with tech that plugs into your bank account and analyses your spending in the background, is the best way to deliver financial assistance to help you keep track of your money and actually save for a rainy day. More broadly these chatbots are targeting millennials who, they claim, typically aren't as financially savvy as they could be and who are perfectly comfortable communicating entirely through emoji. Choosing to announce news or fully launch today are Plum, Chip, and Cleo, which is a little awkward.