Spend, Save and Invest All In One Go: Introducing Dozens, The New Home For Your Money

dozens, the new banking and wealth management alternative looking to make saving easier and more rewarding for all, has onboarded over 1000 customers within just two weeks of its app launch.

Looking to put the ‘fin’ back in ‘fintech’, dozens’ vision is to create an equitable and financially-savvy world, by providing simple, digital access to financial literacy, and opening up sophisticated products previously earmarked for smaller segments of the market. By providing customers with access to higher returns, and a complete overview of their money within one single app, dozens will help consumers to stay in control of their spending, grow their savings and invest all in one place.

Traditionally, banks have relied on customer debt for profit – this is something not even the ‘challenger banks’ have questioned. dozens, however, has flipped this longstanding business model on its head. For too long, banks have made money from individuals struggling financially with overdrafts and loans, or monetising through customers’ data by offering existing financial products from other banks on a digital platform. 

The launch of dozens shines a light on how much the banking world makes off its customers. With rapid sign ups in just the first few days there is a clear demand for a bank that is committed to only making money when its customers do. dozens only makes a return on its savings products, and promises to always pass the larger cut on. Even for its investment portfolios, dozens only charges a fee when the value of a customer’s investment is higher than what they initially put in.

The app itself has been designed to re-engage its users with their money through features such as saving through roundups and other automated rules (‘save for a sunny holiday every time it rains in London’). The smart budgeting tool updates customers’ remaining weekly budget based on their daily spend. Furthermore, it will reward its users for financially responsible behaviour such as staying within the weekly budget by entering them into a draw for cash prizes.

A real point of difference for the app is that it lets you see your money across spending, savings and investment buckets in one consolidated home screen – something the company captures through its goal to position itself as ‘the new home for your money’. The dozens team are looking to truly understand people’s relationship with their money and create a solution that is designed to help everyone grow financially, whatever their money situation. Whether a person is struggling to stay out of overdrafts or struggling to find decent returns, the app will help them make the most of their finances.

The first of the Company’s proprietary financial products will be the dozens 5% p.a. fixed interest bonds, which will make high interest rates accessible to more people. The bonds are ISA eligible and open to any adult UK resident with £100 to save. The bonds are listed on NEX, ISA eligible, the interest is paid monthly, and there is no lock-in.

In order to support the rollout of the app, dozens is also announcing plans for a fundraising campaign as part of its Series A investment round on leading European equity crowdfunding platform, Seedrs.

Founder and CEO Aritra Chakravarty said: “If I were a driver working for a ridesharing company I would not be happy if I only got back 10% of the fares I made, while 90% was kept by the platform. And yet with our deposits, this is exactly what we settle for – our deposits earn banks billions in profits, yet we only get back a fraction of it.  Because 95% of the market is controlled by the big 5, we’ve kind of lost any fairness around the pricing of money.

Challenger banks have done a great job of improving user experience and using technology innovatively, but what I see lacking is any innovation on the actual financial service. If it were any other industry, improving value would not just be customer experience, it would be about what you get for the price you pay. In banking price is effectively what interest rate customers get for their savings versus what they pay for their loans.

dozens was set up to answer the question what is the right price for deposits? And how can you incentivize people, especially young people to save and get higher returns? Because if young people saved and bought houses quicker and therefore had more money in retirement, we as a society would be better off.”