Utrecht based startup Bittiq has raised an undisclosed seed round from the newly launched angel fund Holland Startup Capital I. Bittiq will use the capital raised to develop its mobile app. The public launch of the platform will follow by the end of the year, in anticipation of the European financial directive PSD2 in January 2018. The clients of the ‘bank of the free’ Bunq will get a sneak preview of the Bittiq app as early adopters in September.
Founded earlier this year by Hidde Koning and Federico Spiezia Bittiq offers help to people to get a good overview of their monthly expenses and take financial decisions based on sound judgement. The startup takes care of the household finances hassle by analysing bank data and categorising expenses. Just like the many other startups competing in this space. The startup states that it distinguishes itself by listing its customer’s subscriptions and providing them the opportunity to hold them or cancel them via the app. Bittiq takes care of the cancelation or renewal process. “Contrary to most other fintech startups, we are more than just a new technological gadget”, says Koning in an exclusive interview with StartupJuncture. “For us, technology is the means, changing behavior is the goal. Insights from behavioral finance and the use of gamification form the basis of our service, which differentiates us from the competition.”
The company focuses primarily on young families that are trying to balance career and family live and therefore ‘do not spend as much time on their finances as they should.’ Bittiq claims that it can save users up to €2500 per year based on beta tests.
“People often lack the feeling of having control over their money. The vision of Bittiq is to be the single platform where you can do everything that is related to finance: not just gaining insight, but receiving actionable suggestions, says Spiezia, who is responsible for the marketing of the platform. Adding: “We want to innovate finance because we believe that good financial advice should be accessible to everyone. We make it free, personalised and automatic.”
The startup also has a social purpose according to Koning. “20% of Dutch households have financial problems, and another 20% are at risk of getting into problems. More than being just a FinTech startup, we are a startup that wants to change behaviour for the good”, he says.
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