Finn by Chase has officially launched, click here to read our review.
Chase appears to be launching a new “bank in app” called “Finn”.
The “official” description is:
The Trademark Status and Document Retrieval system indicates that Chase first registered a trademark for Finn on February 28, 2017, and registered the logo on May 2, 2017.
Contents
Details
The feature set of Finn is rather novel. The usual features you’d expect (check balances, spending trends, find ATMs, transferring money – including transferring with Zelle, etc.) are supplemented by a rating system for purchases (whether it makes you feel “happy”, “neutral”, or “sad”), and a categorization system of “needs” and “wants” (in addition to how purchases code). A nice component is that Finn appears to let you view transactions based on a number of different rules; for example, if you just want to see your travel purchases rated as “sad”.
There is also an integrated automatic savings feature that comes with a plethora of options: you can save based on a schedule, based on when you spend too much, and based on custom rules (including any combination of rating and categorization, the latter encompassing both “needs” and “wants” and how purchases code).
The main thrust of Finn looks to be using these features to help you manage your money better.
Based on a video of the app, it looks like development of Finn has been completed, so I expect we’ll see it roll out in the next several weeks accompanied by more information.
Our Verdict
Frankly, I’m not entirely sure what segment of the population this app is targeting (aside from young millenials), and I have trouble envisioning the feature set as more useful – on the whole – than a typical banking application. In general, the “need” and “want” system seems pretty useful if you’re looking to trim your budget and haven’t found a different solution. But, I’m not sold on the “happy”, “neutral”, and “sad” rating system. Psychologically speaking, such ratings are useful for controlling your spending, but there’s an essential conflict between how a purchase makes you feel, and how the money you spent on a purchase makes you feel. I didn’t feel that the rating system accounted for that.
On the plus side, the app looks very snappy and responsive, with an intuitive layout (looking at you, Bank of America). It checks all my boxes in terms of good user interface design.
Integrating other institutions would make the app much more useful (this is usually accomplished using Yodlee), but it’s hard to tell if such a feature is currently offered or will be offered.
Your thoughts? Comment below!
