Chip App should it be the new the competitive app to saving across the Internet?

doogey

Chip has been in the media and won various awards as the best personal finance app but I wonder whether it saves me money or has no control of its own finances with different ventures to help its finances? Simon Raben has come up with a good idea so is this something that Martin and banks can get behind? Is the new direction banks should be focusing on called AI saving? Is this IP protected?

eskbanker

doogey said:

Chip has been in the media and won various awards as the best personal finance app but I wonder whether it saves me money or has no control of its own finances with different ventures to help its finances?

It could be both....

doogey said:

Simon Raben has come up with a good idea so is this something that Martin and banks can get behind?

Just because you feel it's a good idea doesn't mean that it's something that should be ramped by a journalist, and it's even less likely that its competitors would be interested in 'getting behind' it!

doogey said:

Is the new direction banks should be focusing on called AI saving?

Attaching trendy labels wouldn't detract from the fact that it's a very simple proposition - automated saving does seem to deliver some sort of feelgood factor to those who don't do proper saving but it's no substitute for the real thing IMHO.

doogey said:

Is this IP protected?

The principle of 'rounding up' is hardly revolutionary, but what specifically do you think would be IP that this company would hold?  The business was started in 2017 so the fact that it hasn't really taken off yet ought to ring alarm bells....

friolento

I have had some savings in Chip for a while, when they offered the leading interest rate. I was never interested in their investments, or in their chargeable auto-saving option which I consider an expensive gizmo rather than a sensible savings approach. I always found their T&Cs tricky to understand. Terms like not paying interest until the fourth working day of a subsequent month appear to be designed to trip up unsuspecting savers. An added complication is that they are using Clearbank, which can be difficult to understand regarding FSCS cover.

Currently I don’t have any money in Chip as there are many better options available to me. If they still offer their flexible tracker ISA with the same rate in the new tax year, I might consider it but only whilst it is the best rate in the market. 

masonic

doogey said:

Chip has been in the media and won various awards as the best personal finance app but I wonder whether it saves me money or has no control of its own finances with different ventures to help its finances? Simon Raben has come up with a good idea so is this something that Martin and banks can get behind? Is the new direction banks should be focusing on called AI saving? Is this IP protected?

Sounds like the sort of thing that might one day end up on this page: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/fake-martin-lewis-ads/

At the end of the day, the best results will be achieved by those who purposely save their money into the best accounts available across the whole of the market and move it when new market leading accounts become available. Any system that ties you to one particular account or bank is going to be sub-optimal.