Wildcard has shut down

Wildcard Money review

Wildcard Money is a new model of banking that is aiming to revolutionize the way Millenials save money. A recent survey discovered that 54% of Millenials have under $5,000 in savings. But not only this, but the reliance on the big four banks and confusing models of banking has left most of this generation in a bad state financially. With Wildcard Money, budgeting is made easy, and it is a modern update on the dated banking system in Australia. It is part of the open banking movement that has become popular in other parts of the world and is now available on our shores

What is open banking

Unlike other banking methods, open banking is one of the most secure ways to manage your money and give providers access to your financial information. Typically used by single customers and small to medium businesses (SMEs), open banking is the concept that banks allow access to their data by third parties. The remits of open banking cover both public data and transactional data. Such information is shared in a secure way, so, while the information is not private, it’s shared in a way that isn’t invasive or leaking.

How does Wildcard Money work

Wildcard Money has the ambitious goal of making money more straightforward. The way they aim to do this is by simplifying the way that you can control your spending. Wildcard Money has created a unique system that drips money from your savings account into your transaction account over your pay cycle. This is a model that they have found to be successful, as it assists budgeting and encourages saving. Wildcard also offers an app so people can keep up with their finances on the go. The premise aims to inspire people to budget effectively by now allowing them to splurge on all of their payday wages at once.

How is Wildcard regulated

The Wildcard is regulated as a Financial Services company. All of their cards are issued by EML Payments, a global payments company that, annually, processes billions worth of payments. Not only this, but Wildcard also has an Australian Financial Services Licence, so you can be certain that they have to abide by all the necessary laws and regulations.

Does the premise work?

In theory, the premise makes sense. If the majority of today’s working population can’t save up a nifty amount of money due to an instinct to spend as soon as they’re paid, limiting the amount of money they can spend throughout each month should work. However, one concern that may arise is that people don’t necessarily have the incentive to stick to it. Wildcard’s website states that ‘1 in 4 people that’ve tried Wildcard have stuck to it’. This means, however, that three people don’t feel the need to stick to Wildcard. This isn’t necessarily an issue with Wildcard, though – if people truly want to save money, they will. Perhaps further benefits will be added in the future to encourage more people that the short-term cutbacks will be worth it in the long term.

Conclusion

As long as the people using it have the mindset to restrain themselves and fight the temptation to stop using it, then Wildcard has a solid idea and a solid chance of success. With no fees and the ability to use ATMs, transfer money to different AU bank accounts, and make purchases online, there’s plenty to entice new customers. The addition of a competitive interest rate paid for every dollar that sits in your account is further incentive to get customers saving – which, after all, is the heart and soul of why Wildcard was set up, to begin with.