PocketWise launches financial health check tool

EMBARGOED: 6.00 a.m. Monday, 3 Sept 2018

PocketWise heralds MoneyWeek with launch of financial health check tool

Financial product comparison site, PocketWise, has just rolled out a new online tool to help Kiwis take a financial health check to see how their current financial products stack up against others in the market.

This free tool provides users with a simple dashboard of all their financial products in one handy place. It then lists other products in each category for easy comparison. Users can check up details of their credit cards, term deposits, personal loans, KiwiSaver funds, international money transfer rates etc.

“We were simply responding to our users feedback. Since launch earlier this year we have had numerous ideas being put forth and it was a question of picking out the most requested”, says Binu Paul, co-founder of PocketWise. “This week is MoneyWeek, and we thought it would be a neat idea to help Kiwis on their journey to financial freedom and savvy”.

PocketWise data confirms that there is a wide variation in costs and benefits of financial products, often in the thousands of dollars and more. This is particularly true when comparing big-ticket items such as KiwiSaver funds and mortgage repayments.

But, even when it comes to more transactional services such as money transfer, the variation in exchange rates and fees among different providers can make quite a difference. For instance, as of 30 August, exchanging NZ$10,000 would buy users anywhere between US$6,635 and $6,485 depending on which bank or online transfer services they used.

“We have been blessed with rich user data and feedback. While we have started with a minimum set of features for this new tool, we are continuing to refine the edges”, says Paul. “My observation is that consumers tend to want to compare prices when buying TV’s, fridges, flight tickets and accommodation, but don’t apply the same savvy when shopping for financial products. That’s a lot of real money left on the table unfortunately”.

Get your financial health check at www.pocketwise.co.nz

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