22Seven goes live for business
South African personal financial management tool startup, 22seven has officially exited beta and is now open for business.
22seven is a “new generation” money management service that aims to help people do more with the money they have. The management service automatically pulls data from your bank accounts, and represents all your financial data in a creative, visual format to assist customers in keeping track of their finances.
The service launched in late January this year in ‘open beta’ to allow for a public trial by anyone interested in trying the service.
The launch sparked security concerns within the public and banking sectors due to the basis of the service requiring private login details being sent to a third party.
The service requires that you enter your full Internet banking credentials: account number, PIN, and password.
This is stored at well-known third-party financial data aggregator, Yodlee, and allows 22seven to automatically pull transactions from various banks and other financial service providers into your dashboard.
Each of South Africa’s banks issued stern warnings about the service, saying that they wouldn’t be responsible for any losses if users gave their credentials to third parties.
For beta or worse?
According to 22seven, over the few months of beta testing, the company had received extensive feedback from customers, which has led to some changes to the service, albeit more on the visual and presentation side.
The website has been redesigned; the service offers a new way of looking at available balances in accounts; and the modular representation of the service has changed.
“The new service is arranged in a way that helps customers look at what they did, are doing and can do with their money,” the company said. “These changes and additions are designed to show us our money differently, and to do more with it.” said CEO of 22seven, Christo Davel.
Davel continued, saying that there is more in store for the service, “22seven may have come out of beta, but the journey has just begun.”
“We are just beginning to understand how powerfully this product can help people change their relationship with money. This plan is not simply to get people out of debt or help them save more. It’s our intention to fundamentally and permanently alter our relationship with money for the better.”
22seven works with all local banks, and the company offers its service free for 30 days as a trial period, with a R70 per month subscription charge, thereafter. The service can be accessed through www.22seven.com.
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