In an effort to increase dialogue around money and money management, the digital bank Revolut is introducing its latest feature; allowing customers to chat with other customers.
Revolut confirmed this week that it is to include an instant messaging feature within the capabilities of its banking app; which is used by around 20 million people around the world.
The feature will work just like any other chat service and will enable users to engage in conversation with people from their in-app contacts.
This is an expansion of the app’s current capabilities included in its ‘transfer’ section. While the process of sending and receiving funds remains unchanged, users will now be able to share messages that aren’t solely contained in that process.
The bank’s recent survey, which included the responses of 8,000 of its customers from across the UK and Europe, found that a considerable two-thirds find it difficult to discuss money with others.
This correlates with Aviva‘s latest study, which was released this week. It found cause to believe that anxiety around money management was leading to financial neglect; particularly among younger customers.
The addition of the app’s latest feature hopes to make the dialogue around money less awkward by keeping it in one place.
“We listened to our customers who said they wanted to be able to discuss and clarify payment details within the app, rather than having to swap between Revolut and different messaging apps to send or receive funds,” comments the bank’s CEO, Nikolay Storonsky.
“The new chat feature supports our customers with their fast, low-cost money transfers using Revolut,” he continues.
“We want to give our customers more control over their financial well-being through the use of our technology, offering a service that addresses all their financial needs in one place.”
Naturally, security is a key point of focus for Revolut, and messages will be end-to-end encrypted to ensure privacy, while users can also block other users’ messages if they wish.
The function can be disabled completely, and the service will only be available to the bank’s UK and EEA users. Users under the age of 18 will not be offered the service.
