Yahoo Finance This app could help you kick a terrible money habit
When we talk about passivity in the context of money, we often think about an investing strategy. But it turns out we’re dangerously passive about our day-to-day spending habits.
Many of us have subscriptions that we say we’ll take advantage of next month, whether it’s a gym membership or a Dropbox Pro account. Clarity Money uses AI to help you cancel those unwanted accounts.
The company just raised $11 million in Series B funding ($14.5 million total) and has over a quarter-million users on the app.
“If Netflix knows what you want to watch and Amazon knows what you might like to buy, consumers should expect a machine to navigate their financial choices. Clarity Money is that tool,” founder and CEO Adam Dell told Yahoo Finance.
Dell is a serial entrepreneur who previously founded four startups, including Buzzsaw.com (acquired by AutoDesk) and MessageOne (acquired by Dell Technologies).
The Clarity Money approach
Similar to Mint (INTU), the app connects to all of your accounts to help you lower your bills, get your credit score, get a better credit card, transfer money between your accounts and set up a savings account.
The main differentiator is the ability to cancel recurring subscriptions you don’t use — in the same way that unroll.me helps you manage your email subscriptions.
“A lot of people have subscriptions that they forget about…and that’s a great way to save money — canceling things you don’t need,” Dell said.
He likens the app to sites like CreditKarma and NerdWallet because he will never allow ads on the app. The company plans to monetize through referral fees from credit card and loan issuers.
“If you carry a low-rate credit card, we won’t offer you a credit card or show you a credit card in your feed. We really are focused on being the advocate for the consumer,” he said.
In addition to its existing offerings, Clarity Money is partnering with spare-change investment app Acorns. You’ll be able to open up an investment account within the Clarity Money app.
It’s only been six months since the app’s launch and Dell believes the opportunities for growth are abundant; he is considering potential collaboration with robo-advisors in the future.
“Our goal is to really give the consumer a tool, to help them navigate what is otherwise a complex set of choices,” he said. “Historically, financial institutions have made a lot of money off of consumers by making things complicated. We believe that’s going to change.”
Melody Hahm is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm.
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