New app to help you save up to £600 a year by ditching unnecessary fees and subscriptions
Money management app Emma tracks your direct debits and alerts you to any extra bank charges
A NEW money management app claims it will save you £600 a year by tracking your direct debits and helping you avoid being charged extra fees by your bank.
Emma lets you sync all of your bank accounts to the app so that you can see your finances in one place.
It is a new service but the firm already reckons it could save you hundreds of pounds a year as well as help you pay off your debt.
They've also launched a new feature that will help you to avoid rip-off bank charges by showing you exactly how much you're forking out in extra fees.
These include things like overdraft fees, foreign transactions, refused direct debits and late payments.
They found that 60 per cent of all bank charges are linked to overdrafts, while 30 per cent are charges related to fixed accounts.
Some banks charge up to £150 when customers borrow £100 for 30 days in an unarranged overdraft - and the app will send you an alert if you're close to going in to your overdraft to that you can avoid the fees all together.
The app categorises the fees in an easy to read display so that you can see exactly what extra fees you've paid to the banks and what they're for.
This makes it easier for you to challenge a payment that doesn't make sense to you.
Edoardo Moreni, the brains behind the app, said: "This is one of the many efforts we are making to tackle an industry that has been unclear, shady and dodgy for more than 800 years.
WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO CUT YOUR OVERDRAFT COSTS?
THERE are a few ways, and which suits you will depend. Here are a few options advised by Money Saving Expert's Helen Saxon
Spend less each month – do a proper budget and have a look at what you’re spending on.
Could you cut your morning coffee, or go down a brand at the supermarket?
Or, are you paying too much on your bills – if you haven’t switched energy, insurance and broadband recently, then it’s likely you could save £100s or even £1,000s over a year.
Move your bills – this can be dangerous if you’re not disciplined, but if you move your bills to just before payday rather than just after, many will be in credit (or less in the red) for less of the month, meaning you’re charged less for the overdraft. But – remember those bills are coming out, so don’t treat it like you’ve extra money to spend.
Move bank account - There's plenty to choose from and you can end up saving money.
Shift your overdraft on to a money transfer card – and don’t build it back up again. We cover this below.
Try setting up "pots" - Sort your cash at the start of each month, so you have a bills pot, a spending pot etc. Use this technique to make payments to your overdraft, eg £100 a month, treating it like any other bill.
"We are super thrilled to announce this new feature and let you know that the fight has just started, but the best is yet to come.
"The world where financial institutions take advantage of their customers is about to end and you can be part of this. Join our fight and help us say no to bank fees!"
The app will also let you keep an eye on your direct debits and subscription services identifying ones that you no longer use and can cancel.
It helps you track your spending too, to show you what you can cut back on to increase your savings.
It's also designed for you to set budgets and help you pay off debt too, highlighting how much more of your loans you need to pay off and when the next payment is due.
The app is free for Android and Apple users and as it is currently running off of money from investors.
Edoardo explained to The Sun that in the future they're hoping to make money from firms like energy companies by referring customers to their products through the app.
Obviously, there are risks to syncing up your bank accounts to a third party app, but Emma is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority which means they will be forced to pay a hefty fine if your information is misused.
They're not the only free to use money management app out there - Bean reckons it could save you £672 by tracking bills and subscriptions.
In a new age of digital banks, some of them already have their own money management apps including Monzo and Starling.
Chip is an automatic savings app that uses artificial intellifens to analyse your spending habits.
It works out how much you can afford to put away and every few days it moves across a small amount, between £5 and £25, into your Chip savings account at Barclays.
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