BNZ launches app-like internet banking service

BNZ today launched a new version of its internet banking service which it says simplifies banking for 18- to 29-year olds.

The service, called YouMoney, features elements of social media and gamification.

“Young people told us they want their personal banking to be easy and intuitive – so that's what we've created,” said Andy Symons, BNZ director of retail.

YouMoney accounts, which can be opened or closed in a few seconds, are represented by iOS-like icons on the left-hand side of your computer screen. When you select one of those icons, that account's transaction history will be brought up in a list on the right-hand side of the screen.

This list can be easily searched - if you want to know how much money you have spent at a coffee shop, you can type in the name of the business to access a list of every time you have spent money there.

Users can set a savings goal for each account, which will be represented by a progress bar within the icon, as well as the actual monetary value underneath. Icons can be personalised - you can use one of BNZ's stock images, or upload a personal image.

To transfer between accounts, users can drag-and-drop one account onto another. For example, if you wanted to transfer money from 'Spending' into my 'Holiday' account, you would click the 'Spending' icon and drag it over the 'Holiday' icon. Dropping it there would open a new menu which would allow you to choose how much to transfer.

Underneath the account icons, there is a row of 'quick pay' payees, which is a list of the most frequently used payees the user transfers money to. Money can be transferred by dragging and dropping onto those icons, as well.

The YouMoney service is available now for those who want to switch, and is free to students and recent graduates. It has a flat rate of $5 per month for non-students. Adding extra accounts does not cost extra money, so a user can have ten accounts if they wish.

A mobile version of the service will be launching for iOS and Android on 1 March.

Can't picture YouMoney? Check out the screenshot below.