New free app that could save you £672 a year by tracking bills and subscriptions
The free web app aims to help you stay on top of your regular outgoings and will alert you to any better deals
A NEW app that tracks your direct debit payments could help you save hundreds of pounds every year by alerting you to better deals elsewhere.
Bean connects to your bank account and credit cards to track all your regular payments, like your bills and subscription to services like Netflix, Spotify and Apple Music.
It's a new service but the company reckons it saved users around £672 a year in pre-launch trials, simply by highlighting unused subscriptions and better deals elsewhere.
According to , 50 per cent of our spending comes through regular, reoccurring payments and we easily forget about them.
Before you know it, you could end up wasting £223.44 a year on subscriptions you don't use and can't be bothered to cancel.
Another big money waster that Bean aims to tackle is that millions of households across the UK have never switched energy suppliers and are stuck paying more than they should.
Bean breaks down your payments and shows them on a clear dashboard, so you can see exactly what is going out of your account and when.
The web tool will also make it quicker to cancel any unwanted subscriptions by doing it for you at the click of a button.
Normally, if you want to unsubscribe from a service you have to contact them directly. Bean will do this for you.
"We're trying to make it as easy as possible by taking all of the effort away," the brains behind Bean, Peter Myatt, told the Sun Online.
“People fall into subscription traps and miss out on savings if they don’t keep on top of their spending.
How easy is it to use Bean?
SUN Online reporter Hollie Borland tries out the web app and this is what she found:
It's really easy to sign up, as all you need to do it set a username and password.
Once you're in you'll need to connect all of your accounts, like current accounts and credit cards. You'll need your online banking security details handy, or else you won't be able to connect.
If you do get any of the security questions wrong, you'll need to visit your bank directly to sort this out, the same way you would if you got locked out of your online banking.
It's really simple to find your bank in the apps section and it takes a few minutes for it to connect to your bank.
Once you're in and set up, your dashboard is ready to use. You can see what regular payments leave your account and what account they are leaving.
When you click on each payment the tool breaks down it down into your total spend, how many payments you've made, what dates you paid and a handy graph showing the changes in the monthy payments.
Here's where you can remove the subscription too. Nothing feels hidden.
My biggest problem is remembering my security details but once you're in, it's straight forward to use.
“We want to help people who might be having a hard time managing their bills, accidentally caught in subscription traps and not sure how to go about switching or cancelling services."
It will notify you with an email if there are any changes to your regular payments, like if your phone bill is higher than usual.
Bean will also recommend better deals for your finances, like swapping credit card debt onto a zero interest card or switching your electricity supplier at the end of your contract.
SWITCHED OFF Will the energy price cap push up prices for fixed tariffs?
The tool uses the same third party to access your accounts as some banks do for their online banking products (known as Yodelee), so they can't store any details and they can't touch your money.
It's free to use as Bean makes its money by charging companies if you choose to switch base to their recommendation.
Even though this provides Bean with a financial incentive to recommend certain services over others, they reassure customers they're "completely unbiased and will always offer you the best deals regardless of fees".
How to switch energy suppliers and save money now
MILLIONS of households across the UK have never switched and are stuck paying more than they should.
If in doubt, call your provider and ask them to move you to their cheapest tariff.
Better still, use a comparison website like MoneySuperMarket.com or Energyhelpline.com to find the very best deal for you.
The cheapest tariffs are usually found online and are fixed deals – meaning you guarantee how much you’ll pay for a set amount of time, usually 12 months.
Switching to a cheaper supplier could cut your bill by up to £300 a year.
The amount you pay varies depending on where you live and how much energy you use.
At the moment Bean is only available as a web app, because they don't want to alienate people by developing the app either Apple users or Android users.
This means that you'll have to log on in your web browser every time you want to look at it.
As it stands, they can't offer any exclusive switching deals through the app, but Myatt says that is something they are working towards.
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