SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Douugh has partnered with progressive community bank Choice Financial, to launch an integrated checking account and debit card. Choice has also made a strategic investment to support Douugh’s roadmap, bringing the company’s total seed funding to $2.5M.
"It’s very exciting to be chosen as Douugh’s banking partner," said Tim Heilman, CIO at Choice Financial. "Douugh’s vision of reimagining an everyday banking experience through AI is the next revolution in our industry. Douugh is laser focused with global potential, unique technology and a world class team. With our partnership we have the opportunity to co-create and collaborate to redefine what people should expect from their bank. Choice Financial’s purpose is to put people first in everything we do, a common connection we quickly identified with Douugh.”
The first personal ‘smart’ banking app, designed from the ground up taking an Artificial Intelligence (AI) first approach to help customers live financially healthier lives, has already launched in beta. Douugh has developed Sophie - a personal assistant for finances, and aims to change the way customers interact with their banks, says Founder and CEO, Andy Taylor.
Taylor continues, “What has impressed us most about Choice Financial, is their shared values around putting people first and belief that the future of banking is about platform, data and identity. We both agree that big banks are failing to take on the responsibility of educating people about money management, a problem we are looking to solve head on, with an emphasis on helping customers to get out of their compounding debt cycle caused by credit cards.”
“Our mission is to give customers the tools to break that cycle and to put them back in control of their own finances,” states Taylor.
Sophie’s role is to empower users to make the best financial decisions based on their unique situations, by offering:
- A personalised experience that helps customers manage their money and fast tracks them to financial freedom.
- Collating, organising and informing customers about their spending habits all in one place.
- Coaching and guiding customers to a better understanding of their financial status, and helping users get to where they want to be financially.
- Sophie also provides deep insights that are designed to help customers stay financially fit and healthy in the long term.
- Users can also use Sophie as their very own personal banker to perform transactional tasks - like paying and splitting bills, requesting money, automatically saving, tracking and management of spending and savings goals, all through Douugh’s own bank account and debit card product.
As the unbundling of banking services continues to be accelerated by financial startups, Andy sees Douugh’s role growing to become a ubiquitous financial control center for customers, embracing and working with best of breed partners to deliver complementary services that are connected into Sophie.
Some will be integrated directly within the Douugh mobile app, others through an API product called “Douugh Connect,” which will enhance Sophie’s power to coach, manage and execute in a more cohesive and intuitive way, on autopilot or as-needed.
Douugh is now accepting beta pilot registrations, which is being rolled out on an invitation-only basis. Interested banking customers can visit the website to request access and become part of the foundation community that will help shape its services moving forward.
About Douugh
Douugh is a fintech company taking an AI-first approach to redesign banking, enabling customers to live financially healthier lives. The company was Founded by Andy Taylor, Co-Founder of Australia’s first and largest P2P Lending platform, SocietyOne.
About Choice Financial
Choice Financial is a progressive financial services organization built on the values of collaboration and relationships; driven to develop innovative products and services while leading in the industry by always putting people first.