Image: Revolut
Digital challenger bank Revolut is hoping to attract couples who don’t want to endure the hassle of setting up a joint account with its new shared savings feature.
UK-based fintech Revolut has unveiled a new shared savings account feature, which the company hopes will be used as “an alternative to joint accounts”.
Group Vaults is a variation of the company’s existing Vaults function, which is an interest-free alternative to savings accounts.
The Vaults can be opened, closed and withdrawn from in an instant. Users can round up spare change with every transaction on their Revolut card and send it to the Vault, set up recurring payments or make one-off deposits.
Group Vaults are a collaborative spin on this existing feature, allowing multiple users to set aside money for a shared goal, be it a holiday, group gift or household bill.
Revolut is also tipping the feature as a hassle-free alternative to creating a joint account. Joint accounts have declined in popularity among so-called ‘millennial’ married couples, marking a significant generational shift. The digital challenger bank counts this younger generation among its most prized user base.
One could speculate that this new feature is a clever attempt by the company to embed itself into the financial and psychological fabric of the next generation of families, which will likely beget the kind of lifetime loyalty that is currently only enjoyed by established players in the world of banking.
According to the firm, users have created 1m normal Vaults so far, saving more than £75m. Revolut has more than 4.9m registered users, signs up more than 12,000 new customers every day and processes more than $5.5bn in transaction volume every month.
In addition to Group Vaults, Revolut is storming ahead with other previously discussed product launches such as a commission-free trading platform, robo-adviser and a Revolut Youth app. It is also set this year for launches in the US, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Revolut released figures earlier this month indicating that millennials – far from being impulsive avocado toast-loving spendthrifts as they are so often derisively characterised by older generations – are interested in saving.
Almost two-thirds (63pc) of the millennial generation are worried about their financial future and 67pc are regularly saving money. One-third of millennials are saving towards their first home while 30pc are saving towards a holiday.
