22seven is one of SA’s most innovative FinTech companies, which through its web-based app promises to help customers automatically create a budget. When you link all your store, cheque and credit cards to the platform it will enable you to see all your financial transactions in one place. “22seven automatically gathers all your transactions, then sorts them into categories for you so you can see how much you spend on what,” says 22seven Chief Financial Officer Ari Fonarov.
Since December 2014 22seven's service is free of charge, something made possible by its acquisition by Old Mutual.
The platform, which caters for both the iPhone and Android platform, also helps you to invest online in unit trusts without any paperwork or middlemen, which makes the investments a lot more cost effective from a fee perspective when compared to the industry average.
- FinTech - Mobile money transforms access to financial services
- FinTech - Nomanini CEO Vahid Monadjem chats about its prepaid vendi...e
- All about the launch of FinTech Africa on March 17 2015
"Nobody likes a spreadsheet - and even if you do, they're laborious and time-consuming to do. 22seven changes that; it makes seeing your money much simpler than it's ever been. And it empowers people to master their own money, instead of relying on someone else like a financial adviser or accountant," adds Fonarov.
Despite Fonarov's bullish tone he's quite skeptical about the local financial technology space. "We don't think the finance industry has changed much, despite how technology has changed other spaces."
Fonarov says, "there are a lot of tech companies we do admire, and they've all radically changed their industries - think about what Google has done for search and information, what Uber has done for transport, how Netflix has changed entertainment those are companies we admire. We hope to do the same for money".
So what should we expect from 22seven when it comes to attracting new customers? "Every day we have customers saying how much they love 22seven and how much it's helped them. And we'll keep adding more to 22seven. So there'll be new ways, for new and existing customers, to benefit from it".
- Join the FinTech Africa Event 'Challenges and Developments' on 28 July 2015 in Johannesburg. RSVP now here or contact us on [email protected] or +27 11 0837515.
- Stay connected, up to date and in the loop on what is happening in the world of finance and keep track of newly published expert insights and interviews with CFOs and CEOs. Become an online member and receive our newsletter, follow us on Twitter and join us on LinkedIn.