AIB to remove spending tracker service from app

Low customer usage behind decision, says spokesman

A spokesman for the bank said the main reason for the decision was low customer take-up, adding that AIB may revisit the services with a view to updating them in the future. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin / Collins Photos
A spokesman for the bank said the main reason for the decision was low customer take-up, adding that AIB may revisit the services with a view to updating them in the future. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin / Collins Photos

AIB will discontinue two consumer spending tracker services available through its online banking platforms, citing low usage by customers.

The bank has informed customers that from Monday, March 27th, the My Spending and My Money Manager services will be removed from the AIB banking app and its desktop internet banking platform respectively.

“Nothing else is changing, you can still access your accounts and all the services you use as normal,” AIB said in an email to customers.

A spokesman for the bank said the main reason for the decision was low customer take-up, adding that AIB may revisit the services with a view to updating them in the future.

READ MORE

It follows shortly after a decision by Bank of Ireland last month to discontinue its mobile top up service from the end of March.

IT Business Person of the Year Barry Connolly: ‘I never really wanted to work for anyone else’

Listen | 46:13

It is the latest sign of retrenchment at the bank, which has shuttered branches and shifted services to post offices amid a drive to cut costs.

In the face of stiff competition from digital challenger banks like Revolut, Bank of Ireland (BoI) has undertaken a significant programme of cost-cutting in recent years while also attempting to overhaul its online offering.

Among other things, Revolut offers detailed consumer spending tracking services and analytics through its mobile app, allowing customers to set budgets and monthly or weekly spending limits.

AIB, BoI and Permanent TSB are hoping to claw back younger customers with their Synch joint venture, a mobile payments platform for which they received approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission last summer.

Ian Curran

Ian Curran

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times