Digital disruption is proving a powerful force for good across many sectors.
From work practices to ecommerce to the delivery of healthcare, the application of smart technology is enhancing lives by making it easier to get things done, boosting engagement and improving outcomes.
Now it is happening for savers and investors too.
Tap2Invest from KBC Bank allows KBC current account customers to start investing in minutes, with an in-app product that lets you put in as little as €10* a month.
“You don’t need a lump sum to get started and you can track, pause, increase, or decrease your contributions at any time, all from your app. The highly innovative product puts the control back in customers’ hands and makes investments accessible to a wider group of people,” says Ciaran Ryan, KBC’s head of investment products.
“Tap2Invest is a simple to use investment product available through the KBC app. It is easy to set up, easy to use, and easy to close the investment, with competitive management charges,” he explains.
“We are a digital-first bank and last year we undertook a very significant investment in our IT platform which has allowed us to roll out digital products and solutions more quickly.”
Put your money to work, ethically
Tap2Invest comes at a great time for those looking to build up a nest egg or achieve an investment goal.
While the pandemic has been hard personally and financially for many, according to the Central Bank, Irish households put away approximately €15 billion of savings in the 12 months to the end of January 2021.
“While some people have had the opportunity to build up their savings during the pandemic, in the current environment the return they are getting on the traditional savings account is not enough to cover the increase in cost of living, which means that people’s money is not working nearly as hard for them as it might,” Ryan says.
“This has led a significant cohort of people to start asking themselves ‘Should I look at investments?’ and Tap2Invest is a simplified and accessible investments experience that could be an excellent option for many to look at making a return on their savings.”
In response to the continued growth of sustainable investments, KBC now offers 100 per cent socially responsible investment (SRI) funds across its entire investment portfolio, including Tap2Invest, all of which take an ethical approach to investment. These include its new ExpertEase and Sivek funds.
For us at KBC it's about demystifying investing
The fact that the funds are socially responsible is a huge part of their appeal, says Ryan, who believes Covid-19 has fuelled interest in sustainable products of all kinds, including ethical investments.
Saving versus investing
Tap2Invest disrupts a long-established – and false – dichotomy that has evolved in the industry that keeps savings and investments separate.
For too long savings and investments have been seen as separate things, and consumers have been told to click in one place for savings and in another for investments, when in fact, for many the objective can be the same.
What we all want is to get the best return possible, in a way that enables us to feel as comfortable as possible with where we have put our money, explains Dara O’Brien, investment specialist at KBC Asset Management.
Personal finance and the way the world invests has changed
But because of the way financial service products have traditionally been promoted, “the vast majority of people put their money into savings accounts, because they are comfortable with it.
“Investments were often seen as only being for people who were technically proficient or simply have lots of money,” says O’Brien.
Tap2Invest busts that myth.
“Finance has changed. Personal finance and the way the world invests has changed. For us at KBC it’s about demystifying investing,” he says.
He believes that a huge part of the reason many people don’t feel that investing is for them, is because, “it has been made look more complex than it is,” he continues.
“If you are simply curious to see if investments are for you, you can now find out for just a tenner a month. You can put something in on a once-off basis or on a regular basis, to see how it works. We are opening up that conversation,” says O’Brien.
“It’s still saving, it’s just a different way of doing it.”
[ Discover more about Tap2Invest at kbc.ieOpens in new window ]
Terms and conditions
Terms and conditions apply. Tap2Invest must be funded from a KBC Current Account in the same name as the Investment Account. Tap2Invest is a non-advisory investment product.
KBC Bank Ireland plc is a distributor of funds managed by KBC Fund Management Ltd and KBC Asset Management NV. KBC Bank Ireland plc and KBC Fund Management Ltd are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. KBC Asset Management NV is authorised in Belgium and regulated by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).
Warning: If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
Warning: The value of your investments may go down as well as up.
Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
Warning: You will be solely responsible for the decision to invest in this product. KBC will not provide investment advice or assess suitability/appropriateness.